m •■■'-'■'''■'■> « m m WM m m -■>■<:'■: ■ ■ ■ ^■1 ^mm III BRARY OF CONGRESS. v 0|in: I Mil!) STATES OF AMEBIC!. ■ I I tefl ■ C »P 1 1 * ■ ^.- * aw ■ ,* ■ ±. 5J ^B ■ u&5 ■ ' •*. *\7! * I :■ ■> 1 ■ ■ it* V • ■ ^ H Heaven Revealed BEING A POPULAR PRESENTATION OF SWEDEN B ORG'S DISCLOSURES ABOUT HEA VEN, WITH THE CONCURRENT TESTIMONY OF A FEW COMPE- TENT AND RELIABLE WITNESSES. BY B. F. BARRETT, Author of "The Nbw View of Hell," "The New Dispensation," " Foot- HUNTS of the New Age,"/' The Question Answered," etc., etc. " If the phenomena of the Spiritual World are real, in the nature of things they ought to come into the sphere of Laiv." — Henry Dkummond. PHILADELPHIA: PORTER & COATES. 1885. < Copyright. BWEOENBORG PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION. 1S85. LC Control Numbe: tmp96 029031 Preface i T is nearly fifty years since the author of the present work commenced a serious and thorough examina- tion of the theological writings of Emanuel Sweden- borg. He was told that this illustrious seer claimed to have enjoyed open intercourse with the denizens of the spiritual world for many years, and to have been divinely commissioned to write a detailed account of what he heard and saw in that world ; and the treatise known as 11 Heaven and Hell " was placed in his hands for perusal. After reading a few pages, the book was laid aside, the present writer saying to himself: "All this may be true, or it may not. We have no means of knowing. There is no adequate test whereby the truth or falsity of such alleged disclosures can be determined. Why, then, should I waste time over such a book ? " It is easy for me, therefore, to pardon the incredulity of Christians touching this astounding claim of the great seer, and to excuse the prevailing reluctance to give any thought or attention to his alleged disclosures concerning the other world. For probably most of them think as I did, that we have no means of proving either the truth or falsity of such pretended revelations. iii iv i- Wli 1 fore, by an examination of which can neither be proved nor disproved? Will it not be a wa It when, after thorough and careful study of Swe- tem f I found myself compelled by i of evidence to accept it for just what i be divinely authorized revelation of new and In truth — I was satisfied that he was a man d and f God, and that his disclosures con- [eaven and Hell must also be true. Then turning my attention to his pneumatology, I very soon found that this, too, rests on a foundation not less solid and secure than his the< ; and that its truth is sus- .iii < xtent I had not suspected — ptible of a verification, indeed, closely approximat- trations o( exact science. The purpose of the present volume is, to lay before me of the evidence which carried con- to the writer's own mind, that what Sweden- I has reveal d concerning the heaven of angels is ketch, but literally and unquestiona- A number of reliable and independent wit- :. h D summoned in the case, — such as a, an.. human experience, the tltal and moral constitution, the US of the wisest and best men, the i of the Heavenly Father, and the /'. V undeniably wholesome and ' n tendency of the dis- closures themselv< Now, if we have the concurrent testimony of all these witnesses in support of the truth of Swedenborg's dis- closures, what is the verdict we might reasonably expect on the subject, from an intelligent and fair-minded jury? Had he performed miracles like those recorded in the New Testament, and had his miraculous power and deeds been ever so well authenticated, would this have been half as convincing to a rational and truth-seeking mind, as the agreeing testimony of the above named witnesses ? Or would it have been half as well suited to the requirements of a reasoning and reflecting age ? Probably every Christian minister is plied with ques- tions now and then concerning the life beyond the grave, which he would be glad to answer, but feels his utter inability to do so; and most ministers would, no doubt, greatly rejoice to have a full and strictly accurate account of the spiritual w T orld, its nature, inhabitants, phenomena and laws — an account as full and reliable as an honest and intelligent traveler who had spent twenty years or more in Japan, might be expected to give us of that country. They would doubtless find it an im- mense aid in their work of helping souls on the way to heaven. And the author believes that every minister who reads this volume with close attention and without prejudice, vi PREFACE. will id that such a report of the world beyond has actually been m And he has himself derived tion and spiritual help from the disclos- whicli he here invites attention, and is so anx- should share what has been to him a rah repast, that he feels like making personally a lai Ml the price of the present volume, . : v minister and theological student in our land, who will promise to read it with close attention and a ne to know the truth. I In several ^\ the subjects treated in these pages, the author is fully aware that most of the churches of to-day have outgrown and rejected the views that were entertained a hundred years ago; such, for example, as "Work in Heaven/ 1 "Sex and Marriage in Heaven,'* "Children in Heaven," "A Heaven for the non-Chris- World, " etc. And the fact that the views com- monly held and taught on these subjects to-day, are in tantial ment with those revealed through Svve- . hould 1) tak< n a- presumptive evidence that -a other subjects also are true. An minister's ecclesiastical relations to-day, are in Q< d by hi- open rejection of the old do^- : the damnation of Some infants and of all the then, and of incessant oral prayer and psalm-sing- \ or by his acceptance of the new and nal view- on these subjects, there is no rea- PRE! vn son to believe that they would be seriously affected by his embracing and teaching the entire pneumatology of Swedenborg, so far, at least, as this can be shown to be in agreement with Scripture, reason, experience, and the known laws of the human soul. But the strongest evidence of the truth of Sweden- borg's revealings about Heaven, and that which, above all else, should commend them to the thoughtful and earnest inquirer, is their wholesome practical tendency — their unquestionably elevating and benign influence upon the believer's life and character. The author hopes that the reader will not lose sight of this consid- eration, nor forget to give to it the weight which its im- portance demands : Remembering these divine words : "For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble-bush gather they grapes." And no more should we expect that wholesome and benign influences would be shed forth upon the believ- er's mind and heart, from false or fantastic teachings, from the speculations of a mere theorist, the hallucina- tions of a dreamer, or the oracular utterances of an in- nocent but self-deluded fanatic. B. F. B. GERMANTOWN, June 24, 1 885. Contents I. — SWEDENBORG THE ClIOSEN INSTRUMENT II.— Objections Answered III. — The Origin of Angels IV. — The Essential Nature of Heaven . V. — Character of the Angels VI. — Verdict of Reason and Experience VII. — Testimony of Scripture . VIII. — The Sure Way to Heaven IX. — Light and Heat in Heaven X. — Practical Tendency of this Disclosure XI. — Environment in Heaven, and what Determine XII. — Societies in Heaven XIII. — The Human Form of Heaven . XIV. — A Heaven for the Non-Christian World XV. — Are Earthly Relationships Continued in Hea\ XVI. — Meeting and Recognition of Friends in Hereafter - XVII. — Personal Appearance of the Angels XVIII. — Rejuvenescence and Growth in Heaven XIX. — Houses and Homes in Heaven. XX. — Garments in Heaven. XXI. — Children in Heaven . XXII. — Sex and Marriage in Heaven . XXIII. — The Subject Continued — Scripture XXIV. — Conjugial Love— Its Nature . XXV. — Practical Considerations XXVI.— Work in Heaven XXVII. — The Three Heavens, and How Related XXVIII. — Eternal Progress in Heaven . XXIX. — Consociation of Angels with Men S IT EN? . THE Testimony PAGE 19 34 54 64 72 80 95. no 122 134 148 162 176 192 200 209 221 228 244 256 268 284 295 306 3i9 346 3 6 4 377 IX HEAVEN REVEALED. XI A \>\> R EV EATIONS ,111. SWE A 1 11. II. A. R. i > A 1 D. P. L .. II. «« Sj.I. I). .. !'. W. .. D i . M 1 1 R, 1 1 N in. D. L. W. 1 1 SWEDENBORG QUOTED IN THE FOLLOWING PAG Aicana ( !celestia. I [eaven and Hell, Apocalj | e R< i icalypse Explained. I I . Ine Providence, Conjugial I I >t Judgment. Spiritual I >iary. I livine Wisdom. trine <>f Life. True ( Christian Religion. Doctrine <>f the New Jerusalem. 1 >ivine Love and Wisdom. \ii Heaven Revealed. i. SWEDENBORG THE CHOSEN INSTRUMENT. MANY people nowadays know something of the claims of Emanuel Swedenborg, however deficient the great majority may still be in any correct knowl- edge of his teachings. It is generally known that he claimed, among other things, to have had his spiritual senses so opened as to enable him to see and converse with the denizens of the spiritual world as men see and converse with each other ; and this continually for a period of nearly thirty years, embracing the ripest por- tion of his earthly life. He made no secret of this claim, extraordinary and startling as he knew it to be; but boldly announced it on every suitable occasion, and repeatedly in his published works. In the commence- ment of his treatise known as " Heaven and Hell," oc- curs the following explicit declaration: — "The arcana revealed in the following pages are those concerning heaven, together with the life of man after death. The man of the church at this day knows 2 *3 14 // i r.n. ly anything about heaven or hell, nor yet about own 1 r death, although these things are all in the Word Nay, many even among those who were born within the church deny these things, Baying in their hearts. Who has ever come thence and rt, therefore, Mich a negative principle, which rules especially among those who possess much worldly wisdom, should also infect and corrupt the sim- irt and faith, it has been granted me to asso- ciate with angi Is and to converse with them as one man with another, and also to see the things which are in tin: heavens as vail as those which are in the hells, and this for the space of thirteen years; so that I can ibe them from what I have myself seen and rd, — which I do, in the hope that ignorance may thus be enlightened and incredulity dissipated." Tin- same claim in substance is often repeated in his writ And he tells us how this extraordinary privi- , ranted him, or in what way this alleged open urse with the inhabitants of the other world was ted [twas through the providential opening of 1 piritual senses. These senses, he says, belong alike y human b ing. They are inherent in the very a of an immortal spirit — are included among or capabilities, just as natural sight, hearing, ., are included in the capabilities of our (na- nism. And although these senses (for a wise and beneficent purpose which he has repeatedly ex- plained) are ordinarily closed during our life on earth, I max- be and repeatedly have been I in men while living in the flesh. And when adividual is for the time intromitted into sii RG THE Cliosr. x INSTRUMRA 15 the spiritual world, and enjoys a sensible perception of its people and objects.* We know very well how this claim is commonly re- garded by those who have never examined the seer's disclosures with sufficient thoroughness to enable them to form an intelligent opinion of his pneumatology. They look upon his alleged open intercourse with spir- its, as not only improbable, unreasonable and unsus- ceptible of proof, but as evidencing a want of mental balance — as, indeed, a species of monomania. Many who do not believe him a willful impostor, and who are ready to admit (for popular opinion is beginning to lean this way) that he saw truth on many subjects quite in advance of his age, treat with contempt and derision his claim to open intercourse with angels and spirits ; as if such visions as he has recorded were to be reckoned among things highly improbable if not impossible, and the record itself to be accepted as evidence of mental derangement. This is the attitude of nearly every one in reference to the great Swede's alleged intercourse with the deni- zens of the other world, before he has given much thought to the subject, or has examined the evidence by which his claim is supported. It was substantially the writer's own attitude before he had made himself familiar with the general character of the seer's disclos- * The Bible furnishes evidence of the existence of spiritual senses in man, and of their having been occasionally opened during his earthly sojourn. See 2 Kings vi. 15-18; and other texts cited in the chapter on " The Rationale of Spirit-seeing " in Doctrines of the Neio Church by the author, pp. 208-213. //. I \LED. &d had duly considered the facts and laws which rlie his pneumatology, and prove it not only credi- but indisputably true. Bui lenborg's claim to a special illumination and n 'if allowed), we shall be told, stamps his disc: with the character of a divinely authorized And not only do people nowadays find it hard to believe in any new revelation (multitudes are ing to disbelieve in any revelation, unless its truth can ntifically demonstrated), but the claim itself seems t< i them ridiculous, and quite sufficient to dis- credit him who makes it; sufficient, indeed, to prove him a deluded fanatic or a wicked impostor. Nor are we surprised at this, seeing how many "false Christs and fai^e prophets " — how many pretenders to a special divine commission — have from time to time appeared, and how many have been deceived by them. But peo- ple do not reason thus on other subjects. On the con- trary, the>- admit that a counterfeit is conclusive evidence that there is such a thing as genuine coin. It is quite true that Swedenborg's disclosures come to idly as a new and divinely authorized revela- : relation, however, not contrary nor supple- men' i the Sacred Scripture, yet necessary to its complete fulfillment and to the better understanding and fuller y of its teachings; a revelation meant and fitted for the spiritual edification of all who are ing for instruction on the sublimest themes, and are willing to receive it. But these disclosures, notwith- standing tl ne professedly as an authorized reve- lation, claim no authority and ask no consideration TRUMENT. 17 merely on that ground. They ask to be receive d sol upon the ground of their intrinsic reasonableness, or their clearly perceived agreement with the deepest in- tuitions of human reason and the verdict of the most enlightened understanding. They appeal to no miracu- lous evidence in attestation of their truth, but to evi- dence of a higher kind. Scripture, reason, analog)', ob- servation, history, individual experience, well-authenti- cated facts, the principles of sound philosophy, the known laws of our mental and moral constitution, the wisdom and beneficence of God as revealed in his Word and works and in the wondrous ways of his Providence — these are the witnesses which are confidently ap- pealed to. What if these should all unite in affirming the validity of this man's claim and the truth of his dis- closures? Shall we reject or disregard the concurrent testimony of such witnesses? Already there is a large and continually increasing class of minds — among them are persons by no means deficient in intellectual grasp, logical acumen or judicial candor — who, after years of careful examination of the disclosures in question, have been constrained to ac- knowledge their truth ; and this, too, in spite of the in- fluence of early education, preconceived opinions, popu- lar prejudice, the sneers of the multitude, and the pity if not the frowns of near and valued friends. When all this is duly considered, we submit to the honest and in- dependent seekers after truth, whether it does not enti- tle this new revelation to, at least, a candid examination. Certainly the acceptance of any revelation or theory by wise and good men, is not sufficient evidence of 2* B //. V RE I D. truth; for wise and good men have sometimes embi error, — yes, and clung to it with surprising But the profound conviction of many such men, is t we think, a sufficient reason for giving their indid examination before pronouncing them Our judgment is unintelligent, and there- valueless, until we have carefully weighed the evi- dence which carried conviction to their minds. The 5, when they crucified the Divine Saviour, knew not what they did. And Christians at the present day know as little what they dn f when, without serious examina- tion, or any weighing of the evidence, they reject and ridicule the disclosures made through the Swedish seer. May th in this be imitating the example of the • closel\' than they imagine? But the very claim, we are told, which Swedenborg up — the claim to have enjoyed long and open in- e with the spirits of deceased men, and to have been thereby enabled to reveal the arcana of the spirit- ual world, is of itself sufficient to stamp him as a de- 1 fanatic. It is assumed that such intercourse is impossible in the nature of things; and on the ground of this assumption, Christians proceed to justify them- I ' ct to examine his disclosures. But a sufficient justification, or if Swedenboi /idence of self-delusion, then what is to I aiah and Ezekiel and Paul and John and a ient worthies? If the mere fact of his claim- with spirits, is sufficient proof of mental aberration in his ease, then why should not a simil evidence vf a similar men- \NSWL IQ tal condition in the case of all other seers? Or will it be said that what was once reckoned among the creden- tials of heaven-illumined prophets, is now to be re- garded as evidence oi mental hallucination? II. OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. IT is quite common to hear urged against Sweden- borg's claim, such objections as these : That, after the closing of the sacred canon, there was never to be any further revelation ; that his disclosures concerning the other world, if true, would be a revelation of mys- teries which no one has a right to pry into or know anything about; that it would be an unveiling of the " secret things" which belong to God, and are no con- cern of ours. But what reason have we to believe that God has limited Himself to precisely that measure of revealed truth vouchsafed to the world many centuries ago? Where is it written that He will never make any fur- ther revelation concerning Himself, his kingdom, or the grand realities of the spiritual world? The Bible con- tains no such declaration — no warrant, indeed, for any such belief. What reason, then, for believing that the Heavenly Father has denied to Himself the delight of communicating, or to men the blessed privilege of re- ceiving, more truth concerning that world beyond the tomb which is to be the final home of all his children ? 2o //• V REVEALED. What reason for the belief that everything was revealed CentUli . which ever was or ever is to be revealed? And if it should please God to lift the veil, and make a ire of things met secret, is it presumptuous for mortals to look upon them? However unlawful it may be to pry into the mysteries of the spirit-world, it surely cannot be wrong to receive with thankfulness such dis- lires as Infinite Wisdom has been pleased to make. True, it is written that "secret things belong unto the Lord our God;" but it is immediately added: that ,4 tho>c things which are revealed, belong unto us and to our children forever." (Deut xxix. 29.) And if there be a spiritual world (and the Scriptures plainly teach that there is), is it not reasonable to be- : that more will ultimately be known about it, than mmunicated to Christians 1800 vears aero? Have we not reason to expect that the time will come when the mysteries of that world will be unveiled and its sub- lime realities d\- I —at least to man's, mental or moral vision? Christ told his immediate followers that He had many things to say unto them, which they were not able to bear (John xvi. 12); but lie never intimated ame inability would belong to his disciples ughout the coming ages. On the contrary, 1 le more 1, and on more than one occasion, that more truth m ome day be expected than it was expedi- ent at that time to impart. 1 le told them that the time when Me would no longer speak in para- . but would show them plainly of the Father. He told them of a Comforter which lie would send unto them, u even the spirit of truth ; " and this Comforter, I le ANSWERED. 2 1 said, when He came, would teach them all things, would show them things to come, would guide them into all truth. (John xvi. 7-13.) He spoke also of another coming of Himself, more searching, more glorious, more powerful in its operation upon the minds and hearts of men than his first appear- ing — a coming which He said would be "with power and great glory.'' Now, who can say, in limine, that, in these prophetic intimations, no reference was had to that grand system of religious truth which was unfolded, or came profess^ edly as a new revelation, more than a century ago ? Who can say that the increasing light upon all subjects which has been flooding the world for the last hundred years, is not a veritable fulfillment of these prophecies, and in the sense intended ? Who knows but the many in- teresting disclosures made through Swedenborg con- cerning the spiritual world, may be among the things which the Saviour had to announce, but which the men of 1850 years ago were " not able to bear" ? Christ de- clared Himself to be "the Way," "the Truth," "the Life," "the Light of the world," "the Light which en- lighteneth every man." And the apostle John says : "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." May not the predicted second coming of Christ, then, be the coming to human minds of more abundant light from Him who is declared to be "the true Light"? — of light more interior, searching and glorious than has hitherto dawned on our world ? — the light of the spiritual sense of the Word breaking forth through the cloud of the letter, — coupled also with the coming to human hearts \LED. ■ re Christ-like spirit? And may not tin- light reveal, among other things, the nature, laws and phenomena of that world which is to be our eternal Who knows, we say, but spiritual light — the light of the New Jerusalem which is beginning to gild and gladden with its splendors the Id's moral horizon — light manifesting itself amid xisting error, the mists of ignorance, su- • don and prejudice, the smoke of demoniacal pas- sions and enmities — may be precisely what the Saviour red to when lie spoke of a second coming of the Man u in the clouds of heaven, with power and great t Who knows? And the way to acquire such knowledge is not, we submit, to treat with indiffer- ence or neglect everything that claims to be a new revelation, but to u watch M — not with the eyes of the .-, but with the eyes of the mind, that is, with our in- tellectual and reasoning faculties. We shall find, on careful reading and a thoughtful Consideration of the whole subject, that the language of the New Testament clearly requires, for its complete fulfillment. h revelation as that claimed to have been made th: the seer of Stockholm. The past rv and present state of the Christian church also, and the acknowledged ignorance of teachers of the Christian religion concerning the spiritual world, justify the same expectation. The Bible, it is generally conceded, teaches the im- tality of t ul — the immortality of man. The fair and logical conclusions from which are, that the SOUl, when the body dies, still continues to live in its 77 (V. \NSWERl . 2 J own congenial realm which is spiritual, that is, homo geneous with itself; that this, therefore, necessitates the existence oi a supersensuous or spiritual world vastly more populous than that in which we are now living, — a world into which tens of thousands of human beings are consciously introduced every hour; not a mere dream-land, or a region of unsubstantial shadows, but a real world inhabited by a countless host of rational and immortal spirits who were once invested with material bodies like our own. And this, too, is generally conceded. But ask the ministers of Christ to-day — the ministers of that religion which is claimed to have brought " life and immortality to light" — about the spiritual world. Ask them in what condition we may expect to find our- selves when we shall have " shuffled off this mortal coil." Ask them if we shall still be in the human form, having eyes, ears, hands, feet, and other bodily organs; — if w r e shall retain the power of thinking, reasoning, remembering, loving, conversing and enjoying. Ask them if our departed friends still think of us and love us on "the shining shore;" if they are near us, interested in our welfare, and capable of exerting any influence upon us, — and if so, how, or according to what law. Ask whether, when we leave these mortal bodies, we shall join them in conscious visible association — be re- cognized and embraced by them, and recognize and embrace them in return. Ask whether the distinction of sex is preserved in the great Beyond, what kind of social life (if any) exists there, and what the law that governs in the association of spirits. Ask whether those who die in infancy and childhood retain forever 24 Ba D. their infantile whether they grow to the full stature of men and women as in this world. Ask ther the righteous who die of old age, continue wrinkled, bowed and decrepid there as here, or whether i the bloom and vigor of their early man- hood. Ask what is the nature of heaven and hell ; the delights of good and what those of evil spirits (if the latter have any); what constitutes the the former, and what the misery of the lat- t r. Ask if there be any industries or occupations be- I the grave, and what their nature ; and whether there exists any sort of connection (and if so, what?) between spirits in the other world and men in this world. Ask ministers of the Gospel these and a hun- I other similar questions (and they are questions h the human heart instinctively asks, — nay, cannot help asking), and what will they answer? Perhaps they will on their opinions — their conjectures ; and these may sometimes be quite sensible. But generally you will receive, in answer to all such inquiries, a frank con- n of entire ignorance. They will tell you that they do n tend to know anything about such matters, as ling has ever been revealed; and, therefore, they cannot undertake to teach with confidence anything them. And is it liable to suppose that this state of con- ( about things of such absorbing interest nal and immortal beings, will always continue? lieve that the ministers of Christ are never to have anyti >ut crude conjecture wherewith to an- ; inquiries upon such lofty and momentous themes? XNSWERED. 25 If ther - spiritual world, according to the universal belief of Christians, is it reasonable to conclude that its arcana will never be revealed ? Does such conclusion agree with what we believe and know of the goodness and mercy of God, the wants of the human soul, or the progress of our race in knowledge upon all other sub- jects ? The human mind has, for the last hundred years, made prodigious advances in knowledge of the material world, and in the means of satisfying the wants and increasing the comforts of our physical life. The secrets of universal nature have been steadily disclosing themselves, as men needed the knowledge thereof, and were prepared to use it wisely. And new and useful discoveries still succeed each other almost with the ra- pidity of thought. Nor can we fix any limit to this prog- ress in knowledge of the material universe. There is no limit. To fix one, were to limit the Infinite Himself, or to deny the indefinite enlargement and receptivity of the human mind. Now, seeing that God is perpetually disclosing the secrets of this natural world for the benefit of his ra- tional creatures, and since the liveliest imagination can set no bounds to the increase of knowledge in this di- rection, is it reasonable to suppose that all knowledge of the spiritual world will be forever denied us ? Will the Heavenly Father vouchsafe to his children an un- imaginable amount of truth concerning this world of matter, and keep that sublimer world of spirit which is to be our eternal home, forever shrouded in darkness? Will He never reveal to us anything concerning the life 3 //. \ // VEALED* >nd the grave, save the simple fad of the soul's im- : Whether we consult reason or revelation, therefore, ught to the same conclusion. We find ample warrant for the belief that some such disclosures con- cerning the other world as are found in Swedenborg's pneumatology, are clearly in accordance with the ways and workings of Divine Providence, and therefore to be expected sooner or later. And how could such dis- ures be made without the aid of a human instru- ment? 1 low, but by the opening of the spiritual senses hosen and duly qualified servant of the Lord, and his consequent intromission into that world while still an inhabitant of this? How, in short, but in the e manner alleged by the illustrious Swede? But we are met with another objection — or rather ex- r giving no serious attention to Swedenborg's pneumatology — which is: That a revelation concerning the spiritual world, even if true, could serve no valuable purpose; that it is needless, and might be worse than ; that it could only gratify a morbid curiosity or a love of the marvelous, which had better be denied than --ratified. Those who make this objection, or offer this excuse in j n <»f their indifference respecting the dis- - in question, do SO, we think, without sufficient ideration. din- same persons would hardly be will- \\ that the astronomer, the student of the mathematics, the inventor or builder of tele- . any on ■ ted to the acquisition and imparta- tion of know! respecting our solar system and the /.V.W/V liar universe, is engaged in a useless occupation. On the contrary, they would tell us that any pursuit which tends to enlarge our knowledge of the material cosmos, to make us better acquainted with the heavenly bodies and the laws that govern their movements, is a high and noble use, even though it add nothing to our im- mediate physical comfort. Useless, indeed, so far as re- lates to supplying our bodily wants, may be the business of those engaged in astronomical observations. But are they not ministering to some deeper wants of our nature — wants not less real and imperative than those of the body? Have not the labors of the astronomer helped to enlarge our knowledge of the universe, and thus contributed to the growth and expansion of the mind, and the consequent intellectual and moral progress of our race ? But the grandeur of the material universe as disclosed to us by modern science, is nothing in comparison with the grandeur of that other universe — the universe of mind. Planets and suns with all their beautiful laws and phenomena, and all their quiet, orderly, rhythmic movements, are indeed wonderful ; but the human soul with all its endowments — its amazing powers of thought and affection, its faculty of boundless growth in knowl- edge and virtue, its untold and inconceivable capabilities of bliss and of suffering — this is far more wonderful. By the side of this, how feeble and almost insignificant the glory and grandeur of all material orbs ! How much more is this like God himself, than planets or suns or aught else in the created universe ! And shall we conclude that a knowledge of the universe of souls — of //. MED. m and laws — can be of no value? i | this is know! not worth revealing, or not th examining when revealed? Shall knowledge of the materia] universe be considered wholesome and use- | -enlarg [inching and exalting the human soul — and knowledge of the spiritual universe, so much and nobler, be pronounced worthless? Is it able that the former of these knowledges can reveal to US more of God, can more exalt our conceptions of his wisdom and love, or tend to bring US nearer to his al likeness, than the latter? Can the study of natu- ral astronomy enlarge and ennoble the pursuer, and the f that higher kind of astronomy which ern- es the relations, laws and phenomena of the spir- itual spheres, be useless? Is this reasonable, or even probable ? Again : Let the reader imagine himself a young man, intending to emigrate to some foreign country in the course of a few years, and to reside there during the re- mainder of his life. Would he not naturally desire some information about that country, and about the character, conduct and condition of its people? Would he not wish to know something of their manners and customs, their language and laws, their dispositions and habits, their occupations and modes of life? And might not such knowledge be very useful by enabling him the bet- ter fa If for the honorable discharge of his dutii i of that country? And suppose the country to have been previously visited by some distin- guished traveler who had published a full account of his of the country itself and the people living there; />. would the time employed in reading his hook be con- sidered unprofitably spent? Would anybody think, or would the young man himself think, that, in reading it, he was merely gratifying an idle curiosity? Well, then, we ask if the desire for some information about that country whither we are all going — going, we know not how soon, and going to remain forever — be not equally natural, yes, and equally lawful? And can we conceive of no higher use for such information, than merely to gratify a morbid curiosity? Who knows but it may be turned to good account in enabling us to fit ourselves more thoroughly for the duties and enjoy- ments of our future home? Who knows but a graphic picture of both the upper and the nether realms in the spirit-land — of life in heaven and life in hell — may kin- dle in our hearts a deeper desire for the former and a more intense loathing of the latter? Who knows but it may quicken our diligence and nerve our energies to- ward the attainment of the one and the avoidance of the other? It has generally been believed by Christians that there exists some sort of connection between the present life and the life to come. And who dares say that the knowledge of haw our life hereafter is related to our life here, can be of no practical importance? A wise parent in the education of his children, usu- ally has some reference to the part they are expected to act when they shall have come to years of maturity. And it will not be denied that his knowledge of their future duties as husbands, fathers, wives, mothers — as members of society and citizens of the state — enables him to direct their education more wisely and profitably 3* 3° 7/ A than he otherwise could. Why, then, should not we be able t to OUT own education in this the childhood of our being, by a knowledge of the >rld into which we are sure of being ushered in our more mature manhood — a knowledge of the laws, duties, occupations and enjoyments of the spiritual :n ? \ i n fd of a revelation concerning the other world ! Look at the state of the Christian church at the time redenborg lived and wrote. Infidelity had well-nigh -led ever\- limb, and a cheerless, heartless, withering materialism was pressing like an incubus upon her vi- tals. Questions had been asked about the future life, which the wisest of the clergy were unable to answer. Man\- had come to deny, and many more to doubt, even the soul's immortality. To arrest this tide of skepticism, there was needed just such a disclosure of the future life and of the grand realities of the spiritual world, as that made through Swcdenborg ; and one accompanied with precisely that internal and rational kind of evidence, too, which alone could satisfy the demands of a reasoning and A .lion concerning the spiritual world not 1! Useless t say you, even if true! Go ask that mother as she bends over the body of her departed Id, and presses upon its marble brow the last fond tribut mother's love: — Ask her if she could find n«' in tlie assured conviction that her little one is v in the tender embrace of loving angels — yes, and br althier, happier, too, and fuller of exuberant life and bounding joy than ever before. Or ask that tATStVI ;>r lowed wife, whose streaming eyes and pallid cheek ami languid frame bespeak an agony too deep for words: — Ask her, as she sees the coffin lid close over the remains of him to whom her affections clung with all the devotion of woman's love, whether it would not lighten somewhat the burden of her grief, to know something definite about that realm which her departed husband entered but yesterday : — Ask if it would not comfort her aching heart to know that lie is more alive than ever before, and thinks of and loves her still ; that his spirit is very near and fondly brooding over her own ; — breathing into her soul in gentlest whispers the blessed influences of heaven (if his heart were set on heavenly things); watching over her tenderly, inspiring her with generous thoughts and noble endeavors, cheer- ing and strengthening her in every good work, and ready, perchance, when her earthly sojourn is ended, to clasp her again in love's embrace : Or ask that youth or maiden who stands o'erwhelmed with anguish by the bedside of a dying father, mother, sister or brother, and feels as if the extinction of this mortal life were the end of human joys and hopes : Or ask that sad and throng- ing crowd who mourn the departure of those they love, and whose dark apparel is but a faint emblem of their darker sorrow, and the funereal gloom that shrouds to them the spirit-land, — ask them if a truthful revelation of the realities of that world to which their friends have so lately gone, would bring no comfort to their riven hearts. Ask if they would find no solace in the unwav- ering conviction that their loved ones are still near and watching over them for good — inspiring holy thoughts 32 //. V REVEALED. and sweet affections and good resolutions and high en- IVOr — fuller of life and joy and action than ever be- f. re. I >r, ask the thousands who have felt and therefore the sustaining power of this new re\'elation in times i >f sore bereavement ; — thousands who once looked on death with dread dismay, but now contemplate it with a cheerful serenity, sometimes even with a holy joy. Ask them, and they will tell you the use of this revelation — speaking from their own experience of its bh They will tell you that not the splendor of empires, nor the wealth of kingdoms, nor the honor of thrones, nor all the gold and glory of the world, can npare in value with the truths they have learned -lit the great Hereafter from the writings of the Swedish seer. And yet in all that we have here said, we have scarcely hinted at what we conceive to be the great practical value of these disclosures. We mean their di- rect influence upon the life of the receiver, here and now; their direct and powerful tendency to repress the evil and develop the good, and to mould the character into a heavenly form. Here, then, we close our argument againsf the objec- ts and in support of the need and use of this new /elation. Here we rest our plea for its thorough and serious examination. The candid inquirer will find here a pneumatology as rational as it is beautiful; as satisfy- ing to the Sternest demands of the head, as it is to the int cravings of the heart. And those who have studied it most and understand it best, would scarcely believed were tin)' to tell half they know of its com- n. ttisfactions, its great practical value in the mation of character. Suffice it to add, that the He enly Father who understands our human n who knows how to give good and [ifts to his children, has mercifully vouchsafed this revelation in answer to a i win | want, ami as one power- ful, means of drawing his children spiritually nearer to Himself and the shining oiks around his throne. Infin- ite Wisdom saw the weed, else the revelation would not have been made. And the use which it has aire performed, the darkness and doubts it has so effectually dissipated, the peace and satisfaction it has afforded, and the support and solace it has ministered to thousands in times of sore bereavement, prove that it is neither the creation of a poet's fancy, nor the offspring of a disor- dered brain. And if the revelation be true, then it must have come from God out of heaven ; and its thankful and reverent reception must tend to lead the receiver up to Him from whom it came. Hut is it true? — is the question. Is there really a spiritual world, inhabited by spirits who are not mere phantoms, but real, substantial, human beings, with spiritual bodies in human form ? If so, where is it, and of what concern is it to us ? Are we spirits clad in mate- rial vestments which death will shortly relieve us of? And shall we then consciously enter the spirit-world as living, conscious, intelligent men and women- spirits in human form? And has God, indeed, been pi I to reveal the sublime realities of that world ? If so, what is the evidence which is expected to satisfy inquiring and rational minds ? c //. V REVEALED. Th to these qu< . and some of the evi- e which we think ought to satisfy candid minds, will be given in the following chapt III. TJ RIGIN OF ANGELS. THE subject of angelology, including the origin as well as the nature of angels, is one upon which Christian ery denomination have written from time to time; and on few subjects has there been a more lent than on this. And as artists some- time- endeavor to heighten the effect of a beautiful pict- ure by contrasting it with something hideous, so we may be excused for placing the Old and the New doc- trine concerning the origin of angels side by side, trust- ing that the truth and beauty of the latter may thereby be rendered the more striking by the contrast. Such presentation, too, will show the need there was of the revelation made through Swedenborg. All who profess the Christian religion, believe in the of angels. They believe them to be spiritual — the wise and happy denizens of heaven. They ild not deny their existence without denying the ex- plicit teaching of the Bible. But the general belief hith- erto has been, that angels are created intelligences wer Hurled headlong from the ethereal sky, With hideous ruin and combustion, down To bottomless perdition, there to dwell In adamantine chains and penal fire, Who durst defy the Omnipotent to arms."' And that prime instigator of the supposed rebellion in heaven, along with those who enlisted under his banner, are what Christians have generally understood to be meant by "the Devil and his angels/ 1 also by "the fallen angels." Nor is it in poetry alone that this doc- trine respecting the angels, is to be met with. We find the same set forth in sober prose by both Catholic and Protestant writers. And we are not aware that any dif- ferent doctrine on the subject, has ever gained currency among any considerable class of Christians outside of the small body known as the New Christian Church. the Loudon Eucyclopccdia, Art. Angel) Now, look at this whole story about the angels, which has gained currency in the church and made a part of Christian theology — look at it in the light of reason and common Does it not wear very much the ap- trance of ancient fable? Does it not look like the pring of heathen superstition ? For see what it re- quires us to believe. First, that God created an order (or several orders) of intelligent creatures — pure spirits destitute of any form or body, though capable of assum- ing both ad Ubitum — and far superior to man in knowl- the Origin oi am 37 uid wisdom, constituting a class of beings inter- mediate between the Creator and the human ra< :ond, that one of the wisest and most exalted of tfa beings, conceived the idea — an idea such as no one hut - the veriest dolt and monster were capable of conceiving — o\ wresting the government of heaven from the hand of Omnipotence, and actually waged war against the Almighty in the hope of gaining the supremacy; and that, failing in the attempt, he and his followers were cast down from heaven into the gulf of despair, where they still cherish their hostility towards the Ruler of the universe. I^ear in mind, also, that this insurrection, war, and ejectment from heaven, are predicated of pure spir- its — incorporeal beings — creatures utterly destitute of any kind of body or shape ! We submit that such ex- travagances are the very height of folly and nonsense. One w r ould think they had only to be looked at in a lit- tle rational light, to be instantly repudiated. Let us now turn to the doctrine on this subject as re- vealed through Swedenborg. He claims to have en- joyed long and open intercourse with the spiritual world, and to have made a truthful revelation respecting both angels and devils — their origin as well as their character and condition. The following are some of the * This was the general belief of the old heathen philosophers, as it is of the Mahometans at the present day. The ancient Greeks believed that the demons (which word was used by them in a good sense) were created such, and held a middle rank between the gods and men. Thus Plutarch says: "Those seem to me to have solved very many and great difficulties or doubts, who place the demons tv ^eaw Qeon> nai avdponuv — intermediate betiueen gods and men., 4 //A.//-. ///./>. things he tells us about the human soul and the origin of angels : "The spirit of man, or the soul, is the int< rior man which lives after death, and is an organized substance ►iritual, not material], being adjoined to the body dur- man's abode in the world," — A. C. n. 1594. "The soul which is said to live after death, is none other than the man himself who lives in the body ; that IS, it is the interior man who acts in the world by means of the body, and enables the body to live. This man when freed from the bod)', is called a spirit, and appears altogether in the human form ; yet he cannot be seen with the eyes of the body but with those of the spirit, fore which he appears as a man in the world, having the senses of touch, smell, hearing and seeing much more acute than in the world . . . together with all the members and organs that man possesses.' 1 — Ibid. n. 6054. 11 From all my experience which is now of many years, I can declare that the form of the angels is in every respect human ; that they have faces, eyes, ears, bn inns, hands and feet; that they see, hear and converse with each other; in a word, that they lack nothing which belongs to man, except the material body. I have seen them in a light which exceeds by many degrees the noon-day light of the world; and in that light I observed all parts of their faces more dis- tinctly and clearly than ever I did the face oi men on earth. " I have often told the angels that men in the Chris- tian world are in such blind ignorance concerning ap- is .md spirits, as to believe them to be minds without Form, and mere thoughts, concerning which they have no other idea than as of something ethereal in which there is somewh.it vital. And because they thus ascribe 77. to them nothing human except a thinking princip they imagine that they cannot see, b tve no hear, because they have no car.; nor speak, because they have neither mouth nor b The angels said in reply, that they knew such exists with man)- in the world, and that it is the prevail- ing belief among the learned, and also to their astonish- ment anion-- the clergy." — 1 1. 1 1. n. 7 ;, "The like maybe said concerning a man in whom the church is, as concerning an angel in whom heav< n is, that he is a church in the least form, as an angel is a heaven in the least form; and further, that a man in whom the church is, equally with an angel, is a heaven; for man was created that he might come into heaven and become an angel. Wherefore, he who has good [or is in good] from the Lord, is a man-angel." — Ibid. 57. u It is altogether unknown in the Christian world that heaven and hell are from the human race. For it is be- lieved that angels were created from the beginning, and that this was the origin of heaven; and that the devil or satan was an angel of light; but because he became rebellious, was cast down with his crew; and that this was the origin of hell.- The angels wonder very much that such a belief should prevail in the Christian world; and still more that nothing wdiatever is known about heaven, when yet it is a primary point of doctrine in the church. And because such ignorance prevails, they re- joiced in heart that it has pleased the Lord at this time to reveal to mankind many things concerning both heaven and hell ; and thereby to dispel, as far as possible, the darkness which is every day increasing, because the church lias come to its end. Therefore they desire me to declare positively from their mouths, that there is not a single angel in the whole heaven who was originally created such, nor any devil in hell who was created an an- 40 WEN RE VEAL* gel of light and cast down; but that all, both in heaven and hell, arc from the human i in heaven, those lived in the world in heavenly love and faith; in hell, those who lived in infernal love and faith ; and that hell in the whole complex is what is called the devil am I :." — 1 1. 1 1, n. 31 1. "That heaven is from the human race may be further evident from this, that angelic minds and human minds are similar. Both enjoy the faculty of understanding, perceiving and willing. Both are formed to receive heaven; for the human mind is capable of wisdom as well as the angelic mind ; but it does not become so in the world, 1> it is in an earthly body, and in that the spiritual mind thinks naturally. " From the- rvations it maybe seen that the in- ternal of man, which is called his spirit is, in its essence, an angel ; and when released from the earthly body it is in the human form the same as an angel. But when the internal of man is not open above but only beneath, then after its release from the body it is still in the human form, but hideous and diabolical ; for it cannot look upward to heaven, but only downward to hell." — Ibid. n. 3 [4. Such is Swedenborg's uniform teaching on this sub- ated many times in his writings. Through- out all his theological works, which occupied him nearly thirty years in writing, we find nothing at variance with us now examine his assertions in the light of ; And Scriptur Idie sum of what is taught in the passages we h quoted, is : That man was created with the capacity of an angel, and consequently of enjoyin nal 1 BSS in heaven : That the soul or spirit which ORIGIA LS. 41 ntinues to live in the spiritual world after the body dies, is in the human form, and is the real man or woman: That all the angels who arc also in this form, having a spiritual and substantial organism, are from the human race, and were once inhabitants of this or some other earth ; and the same is true of the devils: Conse- quently no angel or devil was ever created such ; but every individual in heaven and in hell, has once had his ule or commenced his existence in the natural realm. Angels, therefore, are more perfect or fully developed men ; and men — good men — arc angels in embryo. The spiritual or heavenly is evolved from the carnal or earthly man, by an orderly divine process known to Christian theology as regeneration. Now, is there anything unreasonable in this, as we have seen there is in the old doctrine ? Is there not, on the contrary, something in it which strikes us agree- ably on its first announcement ? — Something which avouches its alliance to the general tenor of all God's arrangements? — Something which tallies with that uni- versal law under which' the higher and more perfect are successively evolved from the lower and less perfect forms of being? All Christians believe in the immortality of the soul; and the soul or spirit is the real man. They all believe that the soul does not die, but survives when its mate- rial vestment has crumbled to decay. And if man, after the death of the body, continues to live as tnan y en- dowed with human attributes — possessing human affec- tions, dispositions, thoughts and feelings — then he must exist in the human form. For to suppose human char- 4* 42 HEAVEN i act i exist apart from the human form, were contrary to all reason and all analoj Christians also believe that the world which every after death, is a higher and more per- 1 than the one in which we are now living. If thi >, then the good man should be a better man — • uld be in a higher state as to affection and thought — in the other world than he is or has been in this. lie should be more perfectly human in disposition and character, more wise, kind and loving; therefore he should be more truly human in farm. In short, he should be in all respects a more perfect man than lie IS while on earth. In other words, he should be an angel. ( Otherwise there would not be that perfect agree- ment between himself and the increased perfections of the other world, which might reasonably be expected. The new doctrine that angels arc from the human race, and that good men are embryo angels, has the un- deniable testimony of reason and analogy in its support. For no law is more clearly revealed in the volume of nature, than that of progress from the imperfect and rudimental to the perfect and mature; — from the lower and simpler to the higher and more complex forms of b inj . Where among all the works of God, do we find any living thing created full-formed and perfect in the b ginning? There is no such thing. Every creature that swims, walks or flies, and every tree and plant that om the bosom of the earth, commences its ex- in a comparatively simple and imperfect form, and <>n increasing in complexity and perfection as it advances towards the end for which it was created. I'll It is known to scien :e that all animals comm< nee their stence from which arc quite uniform in their shape ami structure There is, therefore, a stage in man's existence, when, to human eyes, he does not dif tially from the nulimcntal form of a fish, a IV or a viper. But as life unfolds from this primary form, the animal unde various changes, gradually ascend- ing from lower and simpler to higher and more complex forms, or passing from a less to a more perfect state. A familiar illustration of this universal law, is seen in the changes which insects undergo before reaching the perfected form of butterflies. First, the egg; then suc- ceeds the larva or worm, which is a higher form of life than the egg; next, the caterpillar; then the pupa or chrysalis ; lastly, the creature dies — on the outside, at least — and out of that dead covering springs a beautiful butterfly, the perfected form of this insect life. And similar is the case with every other form of life whether belonging to the animal or the vegetable kingdom. From a simple, rudimental and comparatively imperfect form, it goes on steadily unfolding, and gradually as- suming one that is higher and more perfect, until it reaches the end of its creation. And the case is similar with man regarded merely as an inhabitant of the natural world, and as standing at the head of the animal kingdom. Scientists tell us that, previous to birth, he undergoes a variety of changes, and at different stages in his development simulates the forms of various lower orders of animals. However this may be, we know that at the time of birth he is but feebly and imperfectly developed. In his 44 Bi rudimental or infantile form, some of the organs which belong to him in his mature state are wanting, and others are very imperfect or but partially formed. Yet his form in general is human. There is the rudiment man. Bi to the higher capacities of his nature — to those intellectual and moral powers which to him the supremacy over all other ires, and are the sential human characteristics — the}- do not manifest themselves at all at birth. No livin iture is more stitute of the properly human faculties, than a new- born babe. Hut as this rudimental form unfolds I neath the salutary influences of heaven and earth, the man gradually comes forth, and inc - in wisdom and in statu: This law, then — the law of progress from the lower to the higher, or from the less to the more perfect, in . ndowedwith life, until it reaches the ful- ttd perfection of its being — stands revealed on e of the volume of nature. Nor do we meet with a solitary exception to this law. The Divine creative en- y obeys it everywhere. w The principle of progres- sive advance, - Prof. Bush, " from the imperfect to the finished, from the rude to the refined, from the in- fantile to the mature, from primordial elements to elab- orate formations, from tender germs to ripened fruits, from initial workings to ultimate consummations, is rywhere apparent." Yet what a palpable contradic- :i of this great law, is the doctrine that - were h, full-formed and perfect in the begin nin R asoning analogically, therefore, we are brought to the concl that angels, like all other created bein Hi 45 must have had their initi rudimental state Wh and what was thai •? Where and what was the rudimental or embryo angel? Can the Old Theol< wer this question? And if this world is not our final home, if we were created to live forever in another and a higher realm, what shall we be in that higher lm? — provided that we her y the laws of our her lite, and thus give to our spirits a right direc- 1 in this their rudimental state. Shall we not be more fully developed and more perfect men? Shall we be in a higher state of love and wisdom — nearer the moral likeness of the Creator? In a word, shall we not be angels ? Reason and analogy, then, are clearly in favor of Swedenborgs teaching respecting the origin of angels, and as clearly opposed to the commonly received doc- trine. Let us now turn to the Scripture and see what is its testimony on the subject. And we remark first, that the Bible nowdiere speaks of the creation of angels. It tells (in the literal sense) of the creation of everything else, of the sun and moon, the earth and the seas, the vegetable and the animal kingdoms, and lastly of man the crowning work of the Creator's hands ; but never of angels. As to the crea- tion of an order of beings intermediate between God and men, the Scripture says not a word. In the next place, the Bible teaches that " God cre- ated man in his own image" (Gen. i. 27). How, then, is it possible that there could be an order of beings above man ? A different order of beings must ne have a different form from the human ; and if so, they 4 r > //. D. w< uld not be in the image of God Stretch your im- ion to the uti ou cannot conceive of an i superior to man, yet diflfi From him in outward form. For in so far as their form should differ from the human, they would not be in the image their Creator ; and therefore they would be' inferior to man, unless we admit that an order of beings created in the Divine likeness, may be inferior to another order ited in the likeness of something else — an admission which would be most absurd. For God is the only per- I I )ne. Among finite beings, therefore, those must be most exalted and perfect who most nearly resemble Him. Is it said that a moral likeness to his Maker is what is referred to in Gen, i. 2J ? Be it so. But who needs to be told that, among created objects, the form is ever in correspondence with the essence? — That this is a sovereign and universal law in creation? Even chil- dren know that the properly human characteristics can- not exist under the form of a fish or a crocodile — un- der any form, indeed, other than the human. •. We can conceive of a race of wiser and better men than any now existing, but the}- will not be a dif- ferent order of bein s, They will be simply an im- proved variety of the same order, more truly human, l feet men both in their internal character and their outward form. They will still be men, and all the more SO for ; truer liken. of their Maker. Tli in G 'ore, warrants the assertion that t: tld cannot be any such order of I n God and man as Christians have sup: an- Tlir ORIGIN OF .W gels to be; for the human form is th ion of all forms, and true human lite, therefore, the perfection of all life; ami a good man such as an angel is declared to is the perfection ot created beings. That this conclusion is legitimate, may be further lied from the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ in whom dwelt "all the fulness of the Godhead bodily," was in the form of a man, not only while lie taberna- cled in the flesh, but when lb- subsequently appeared in the spiritual realm to the opened eyes of his disciples. A fact which proves that the human form is capable of receiving the divine love and wisdom in all fulness. Hence it must be the perfection of all forms; and ampng created beings, therefore, there cannot be any higher order — any nearer to the Divine image and like- ness — than man. But we have further and more conclusive evidence from Scripture. For many instances of the appearance of angels to men in the flesh, are therein recorded; and in every such instance they appeared in the human form — as viol Not only so, but they are often called men by the inspired writers. Thus when the Lord ap- peared to Abraham in the plains of Mam re through the medium of angels, it is said: " And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him " (Gen. xviii. 2). So of the two angels that appeared to Lot as he sat in the gate of Sodom. These arc after- wards called men. The Sodomites inquiring after them, said: "Where are the men who came in to thee this night" (Gen. xix. 5)? And Lot said: "Unto these men do nothing " (v. 8. See also vs. 10, 12, 16). Again, 48 HEAVEN RE\ !\ when the angel of the Lord appeared to the wife of Manoah, it is said: "The woman came and told her husband, saying: A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel 1 " (Ju xiii. 6. .Also vs. 9, 10). So, too, the an briel whom the prophet Daniel saw in vision, is called "the man Gabriel" (Dan. ix. 21). And the man whom the prophet Xechariah beheld in vision "among the myrtle trees," is immediately after called "the angel of the Lord" (Zech. i. 8, 11). Again, when the women came early in the morning to the Lord's sepulchre, and had entered into it, Luke says: " Behold two men stood by them in shining garments' 1 (xxiv. 4). And John says that they saw " two angels in white, sit- ting, the one at the head and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain " (xx. 12) — proving conclu- sively the human form of angels and their generic iden- tity with the human race. Again, when the seer of Pat- mos fell down to worship before the feet of an angel, the angel said: "See thou do it not; for I am thy fel- low servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book " — thus plain- ly affirming his human nature, and his consequent kin- ship to our race. And that an angel is none other than a thoroughly regenerate man — one who has attained to the full .stature of spiritual manhood and laid aside his material body, is evident from his measure as given in the Apocalypse. For the inspired apostle tells us, that, having measured the wall of the Holy City when he was in the spirit, he found it to be "the measure of a man [meaning a true or regenerate man], that is, o{ the i s Rev. xxi. 17). It is as true ill morals as in phj that two objects which arc equal to, or havi the same measure as, a third, must be equal to each other. So if the measure of the celestial city be that of a man and likewise <>i the angel, then the moral dimen- tis of a true man must be the same as those of an angel, and the two must belong to one and the same order of created intelligence Then consider the myriads of angels whom John saw, and whose hymns of thanksgiving and praise he heard, when " in the spirit " ; all of whom appear to have been in the human form. And not only so, but we are told that " a great multitude " of that angelic host, were " of all nations and kingdoms and people and tongues," and u stood before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands." And when it was asked, " What are these who are arrayed in white robes, and whence came they?" the answer was, "These are they who came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" — showing that they all belonged to the human race, and had once constituted a portion of the tempted and struggling ones of this mundane sphere. What need of further evidence on the subject, from either the volume of nature or revelation? But some may ask, What then are we to do with those passages in the Bible which speak of u the angels which kept not their first estate," but "sinned," and were therefore " cast down to hell " ? (Jude vi. 2. Pe- ter ii. 4). If the inquirer regards the Epistles as equally inspired, and therefore of equal authority, with the Gos- 5 D 50 //. V RE\ D. pels, we would simply refer him, for an answer, to the criticisms of these pas by Prof. M< Stuart, whose ortho was never called in qi a, and wh i 1 arning and research were such as to place him ill th > most rank of biblical scholars. In his the Apoc , Prof Stuart, after a very care- ful and thorouj animation of these pa not hesitate to pronounce them quotations (doubt!- >m memory) from the apocryphal book of Enoch, and therefore wholly destitute of divine authority (see Stuart o)i the Apoc, vol. i., pp. 50-73). The conclusions reached by the learned Professor, may be summarily stated thus : 1st That this apocryphal book of Enoch was gener- ally known to the early Christian writers — so generally as to render it highly probable that all were familiar with its contents. 2d. That it was held by them in high teem, some of them regarding it as canonical and of divine authority. 3d. That the contents of this book are o( such a nature as to leave no reasonable ground for doubt that the statements in regard to the apostate angels made 1))' Judo and Peter, were derived from this iree ; for this book makes frequent mention of them, of their being bound in chains, kept in darkness and in prison, reserved for judgment, and the like; each of which circumstances is mentioned by these apostles. Such, then, is the acknowledged foundation on which this absurd and heathenish doctrine concerning the pre- exist nee, apostasy and punishment of the angels rests. From the apocryphal book of Enoch as its soun through the epistles of Jude and Peter as channels, the 5i docl has flowed into the minds of Christians and illy a< 1 for divinely revealed truth. And as this book of Enoch is now *ded by all Prot- tnt Christendom as utterly destitute of divine au- thority, therefore it must be conceded that the passages in Peter and Jade's epistles, obviously taken from this >k, furnish no support to the absurd doctrine they have been so often cite 1 to prove. And now apply to eacli of these doctrines — the Old and the New — that highest and surest test of truth, its obvious practical tendency. Which is most benign and wholesome in its influence on the believer's life and character? According to the Old view, the angels are not tnen t and never were. They are quite outside the pale of our common humanity, created another and dif- ferent order of beings from ourselves. What matters it to us, then, how wise and good and glorious they may be? For with all our strivings after the heavenly life, with all our acts of self-denial and self-crucifixion, with all our patient and persevering endeavors to follow the Lord in the regeneration, we can never become angels. Our human nature renders it impossible. We are a dif- ferent order of beings. Nor does the Old doctrine respecting the nature and origin of devils address itself to human fears, any more than that respecting the nature and origin of angels ad- dresses itself to human hopes. For it teaches that the devils, too, are a different order of beings from us — dif- ferent in their original nature and constitution ; that they are fallen angels, and consequently were never men like 52 H V REVEALED. ourselves. Of what concern, therefore, is it to us to know the character or manner of life of the devils, since we can never become one of them. We belong to a different genus. No man, therefore, however wicked and unre- pentant, is to be regarded as a rudipiental devil. But the New doctrine teaches that both angels and devils are from the human race ; that they are all par- takers of our common humanity, and were once men like ourselves. It teaches that we were all created with the capacity of ultimately becoming angels, and that the laws of our higher or spiritual nature are the very laws of the angelic life. And not only so, but that we shall actually become either angels or devils, according as we freely obey or disobey these divinely revealed laws. It teaches that this present world is the seminary of both the up- per and the nether realms ; that men in the flesh are rudi- mental angels or rudimental devils. Thus the New doctrine brings us into close and vital relationship with the angels of heaven. It affirms our near affinity — nay, our absolute identity — with them, as to our nature or spiritual constitution. It reveals them to us as sympathizing and loving brothers, possessing a common nature with ourselves, having once like us i perienced the bondage ofselfishnessandsin, and through .i course of varied discipline suited to each one's state — through disappointments and sorrows, through struggles and sore temptations, through faith and prayer and re- pentance and self-denial — have become cleansed of their natural defilements, and elevated to their present state of heavenly wisdom and serene peace. Thus the Xew doc- trine appeals strongly to human hopes. It discloses the THE ORIGIN OF A VGELS. 53 grand capabilities of our nature, opens up to our mental vision sublime and glorious possibilities, and prompts us, by the hope of one day becoming wise and happy angels, to a resolute and persevering struggle against the evils that infest our bosoms. And by teaching US that the devils, also, are from the human race and were once men like ourselves, the New doctrine appeals no less to human fears than to human hopes. It discloses to US those marred and distorted forms of humanity — the denizens of the nether realms, yet created with the capacity of becoming angels — and proclaims the solemn truth that we, too, may become, yes, sliall become just such inverted images of the Di- vine, if we turn our backs upon the Lord and disregard the precepts of his holy Word. In the revealed char- acter and condition of the devils, we see disclosed our own final destiny if we live in the indulgence of our natural inclinations, and do not deny self, take up our cross and follow the Lord. Thus the New doctrine con- strains the believer, through fear of all that is loathsome in the character and mournful in the condition of devils, to shun the paths which they have trod, to curb the pro- pensities which they indulged, to seek " the way, the truth, and the life " which they ignored and forsook. Yes. Angels and devils once were men. And angels or devils we, too, shall become. So teaches the New doctrine. And it is for each individual to choose which it shall be. A question of deep solemnity and supreme moment ! How carefully should it be weighed ! How watchful should such consideration make us over our 5* 54 HEAVEN REVEALED. ts and lives — our dispositions, motives and cherished purj Considered, therefore, as to its influence on the be- r*s life and character — viewed as to its obvious prac- tical tendency — which of these doctrines appears most thy of acceptation, the ( )ld or the New ? Which has nature of infinite Wisdom and Love most legibly impressed upon it? Which appears most in harmony with the Divine character and attributes as revealed in nature and the written Word? Which looks most like heaven-descended truth, and which most like the vain imaginings of men ? Which is calculated to exert the most salutary influence on the soul of the believer? The reader needs not our answer to these questions. He can answer them lor himself. IV. THE ESSENTIAL NATURE OF HEAVEN. FEW terms are of more frequent occurrence in the Gospels, than heaven and the kingdom of heaven. And precisely what they mean, would seem, therefore, to be a matter of some practical importance to every r of the Gospels. What is heaven, viewed as to ntial nature ? Dr. E. II. Sears asks this question the commencement of his learns of Immor- tality; and immediately adds : "We know of no subject so practical as this. The whole business of the present life, with all its discipline of labor, v and to pi and ripen us h< aven ; and if it shall not do this, life will be a mi able failure But i hall we prepare for it, unl< knowwhat v. to prepare for? How can we tra\ unless we know the point of the comp wards which we are steering ? " The Chri Scriptures are commonly regard I tion from God. They are called, and are belie \ to be, the W >f God. And for what end was this revelation given? Was it not, primarily, that men might be conducted to heaven? — might become happy denizens of the kingdom of heaven, and thus realize the end for which they were created ? If this be so, — if the attainment of heaven be a matter of supreme moment, the very end for which the Lord created us, and would therefore have us strive for unceasingly ; — the end for which He came into the world, taught, suffered, died, rose from the sepulchre, and ascended to the Father ; — the end for which the church, the ministry, the institu- tions and ordinances of the Gospel were established ; — the end for which Christians erect houses of worship, and assemble there to hear preaching, unite in prayer and in songs of thanksgiving and praise; — if heav we say, be the great end of all this stupendous machin- ery and these sublime events, then a clear understand- ing and a well-grounded belief of what heaven is and where it is, would seem to be matters of supreme im- portance. Christians have hitherto believed and taught that heaven is a place into which a person may be admitted by an act of immediate Divine mercy. Go'ui^ to heav en % 56 //. re l n. therefore (if this old and once popularview be accepted) would mean Simply to enter the place called heaven, as a man might go to a foreign country, or walk into a cathedra] or a king's palace. And if entrance into heaven he from immediate mercy, and those who enter are admitted to its blissful enjoyments, why arc not all admitted, whatever be their character? For God must desire the happiness of all, since lie is a Being of infi- nite love. If, therefore, going to heaven means simply to a place called heaven, and if people are admit- ted by an act of immediate mercy, then it is difficult to understand why everybody should not go there, — unless one accepts the old Calvinistic dogma of unconditional election, and believes that it is God's eternal purpose and desire that some of his intelligent creatures should be for xcluded from the abodes of bliss. Now, contrary to the old and commonly received doctrine, Swedenborg teaches that heaven is not a place, but a certain state of the soul — a state of love to the Lord and the neighbor, which is one of spiritual likeness to our Maker. It cannot therefore be located in any region of space. Being purely spiritual and thin men, it e: ivherever human spirits exist that are in a heavenly state — and nowhere else. To cite the seer's own w< <4 It is to be 1 that heaven is not in any cer- tain or determinate place, thus not on high according to the vulgar opinion, but it is where the Divine is; that is, with every one and in every one who is in charity and faith, for charity and faith are heaven because the}- arc from the Divine." — A. C. n. 8931. v. 57 And speaking of discoursing with the Is on one occasion " when the interior heaven was opened to him," or in other words, when he was brought into a state similar to that of the angels by the opening of the interiors oi his own soul, he says : 44 Let it be remarked that, although I was m heaven, still I was not out of myself but in the body, for heaven is in man in whatever place ; and so, whenever it pleases the Lord, a man may be in heaven and yet not be withdrawn from the body." — A. C. n. 3884, "The love and wisdom in which the angels arc and which constitute heaven, are not theirs but from the Lord, and are indeed the Lord in them. . . . The an- gels themselves confess that they live from the Lord ; and from this it is evident that heaven is conjunction with the Lord."— D. C. n. 28. 44 It can in no case be said that heaven is without one, but that it is within him ; for every angel receives the heaven which is without him according to the heaven that is within him. This plainly shows how much he is deceived, who believes that to go to heaven is merely to be elevated among the angels, without regard to the quality of one's interior life ; thus that heaven may be given to every one from immediate mercy; when yet, unless heaven is within a person, nothing of the heaven without him flows-in or is received." — H. H. n. 54; also 400, 518, 525. And throughout his voluminous works the same doc- trine is everywhere taught : Which is, that heaven is within men, and is to be thought of as a certain quality of life or condition of the soul — as an internal state y and not as an external place. It is a state of spiritual near- 53 ni, ness to, or conjunction with, the Lord; and "conjunc- tion with the Lord/ 1 we are repeatedly told, " is effected by means of the truths of the Word, and a life accord- i them." (A. R. n. 883.) Every individual has some ruling love — a love that ntinually acts as an impelling force within him, even without his bcin^ conscious o( its presence. This love IS his lite. It shapes his thoughts and words, and di- rects all his activities. The quality of his life, therefore, that of his ruling love. Oftentimes this love lies deeply concealed, and does not reveal itself to others here on earth. But in the Hereafter all disguises are thrown off, and the interiors are laid open; and what- ever had been assumed for the sake of appearance or dit among men, is rejected, and the ruling love is made manifest by being acted out. The individual then becomes the very image of his love — goes where his love leads him, does wdiat his love prompts, seeks what his love craves, and is just what his love is, ^ood or bad, according to its quality. If heaven, therefore, be a cer- tain quality of life, then as surely as a man preserves his identity in the Hereafter, or carries his own life (and nothing else) with him into the other world, so surely must he carry his heaven with him if he hopes for an abode among the blessed. Jwedenborg not only teaches that heaven is a te, but he has clear!)- revealed the nature of that or the kind of life that constitutes heaven. He [s us that love of the Lord and the neighbor is the ruling love of all the angels, and that this love flows into their heart., from the Lord, and is similar, therefore, 01 /. to the love that 1 1 all his It is the Lord's own influent lii within them, and leading them to love what He lov and to delight in doing what I fe loves to have them do. It is the Divine Love received by the angels so as to :ome in them love of the Lord and of each otl nee all in heaven are said to dwell in the Lord and the Lord in them; for the)' all abide in his love, and his love abides in them. Thus they are im; and likene fthe Lord, being conjoined to Him by love. And we may see from this why heaven is said to be a state of conjunction with the Lord; and what is meant by the Lord's own words to his disciples : "Abide in me and I in you." " lie that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit." u If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love." (John xv. 4, 5, 10.) And the beloved apostle says: "God is love; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God and God in him." (i John iv. 16.) Love of the Lord, then, is the supreme love of all in ven. But to love the Lord supremely, is not to love Him as a person, but it is to love the divine things which proceed from Him — innocence, justice, sincerity, charity — all the Christian graces ; and these are really loved only by those who practise them as religious duties. Accordingly, Swcdenborg says : " To love the Lord is not to love his person, but to love those things that proceed from Him, for these are the Lord with man. Thus it is to love what is itself sin- cere, what is itself right, what is itself just; and since these things are the Lord, therefore in proportion as a man loves them and acts from them, he loves and acts from the Lord; and the Lord removes from him things insincere and unjust, even as to the very intentions and will." — A. E. n. 973. Again : " By loving the Lord is not meant to love Him as a person ; forbythis love alone man is not conjoined with heaven, but by a love of the divine good and truth which are the Lord in heaven ; and these two are not loved by knowing, thinking, understanding, and speaking them, but by willing and doing them because they are com- manded bythe Lord, and therefore are of use. Nothing is full until it is done, and what is done is the end for the sake of which the love is cherished/' — Ibid. n. 1099. We thus see what is meant by loving the Lord su- premely, and how entire!}' this teaching, which is so often repeated by Swedenborg, agrees with the Lord's own. For He says: " He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me." (John xiv. 21.) '• Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you." (Ibid. xv. 14.) "This is my commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you " (v. 12). And to love others as the Lord loves us, is not merely to refrain from doing them evil, but to intend and do them good, and seek to promote their highest welfare. Such is the nature of the love that dwells in the bosom of the angels. The Lord's own love constitutes their breath of life. In the atmosphere of this love, which th not its own but always the good of others, they live and move and have their being. From it they think and speak, and by it all their actions are prompted and controlled. It is the very essence and life of heaven. oi . \\ 6\ Hut truth o\ corresponding purity and elevation is con- joined with this love in angelic minds, as the sun's light lonjoined with heat, or as the lungs arc conjoined with the heart in our bodies. Therefore the angels are as wise as they are good. They act from love, and accord- ing to truth which is the everlasting law of love. They obey the divine laws of charity because they/ove to obey them — because it is their supreme delight to do the will of the Lord. And the unspeakable bliss of heaven all flows from the love which the angels receive and exercise. And as we can form but a faint conception of the purity and intensity of their love, therefore we can have but a faint conception of their exalted happiness. Swedenborg says the delights and blessedness which they enjoy are beyond the power of language to describe, and such as the natural man cannot conceive of. 11 1 leaven/' he says, " is so full of delights, that, viewed in itself, it is nothing but delight and blessedness. . . The delights are ineffable and likewise innumerable; yet not one can be known or believed by him who is in the mere delight of the body or flesh." — IT. H. n. 397, '8. 11 Heavenly joy, such as it is in its essence, cannot be described, because it is in the inmosts of the life of the angels. . . It is as if their interiors were wide open and free to receive delight and blessedness which is distrib- uted to every single fibre, and so throughout the whole frame." — Ibid. n. 409. " How great the delight of heaven is, may appear from this single circumstance, that it is delightful to all there to communicate their delights and blessings to each other. And because all in heaven are of this character, 6 HEAVEN REX D. it is obvious how immense is the delight of heaven ; for there is in heaven a communication of all with each and of each with all. Such communication flows from the two ]... f heaven, which arc love to the Lord and e toward the neighbor; and it is the nature of tin 5 to c >mmunicate their delights. Love to the Lord is of this nature, because the Lord's love is the love of communicating all that He has to all his creatures, for He wills the happiness of all; and a similar love is in each of those who love Him, because the Lord is in them."— II. II. n. 399. Now compare the Old with this New doctrine con- cerning heaven, and note the contrast. The former teaches that heaven is a place, into which people may be admitted arbitrarily — suddenly — by an act of immediate Divine mercy ; the latter says it is a state of life into which people come gradually, and only through volun- tary obedience to the laws of that life revealed in the Divine Word, The one teaches that admission into it is granted as a reward for certain acts done or refrained from here on earth; the other, that entrance is effected through the normal opening of the interiors by religious obedience to the C lazvs of the so///. The one pre- sents it as a desirable locality to which the souls of the pious will be transferred when they leave the bod)' ; the Other, as a certain kind of life that each one must carry with him — obscured though it be, and but partially de- veloped here below. In the light of the Old doctrine, therefore, heaven seems to be an arbitrary gift of God, conditioned, it is true, on the receiver's faith and repent- ance; while the New doctrine reveals an organic and necessary connection between heaven and earth — be- tween the I and the man — between the life hereafter and the life hen Therefore, according to the New doctrine, f to heaven \> no obscure or mystical phrase, but i >ne perfectly intelligible to the most ordinary understanding. For if heaven is not a place but a state, it is obvious that en- trance into it can be had only by such as enter into the >ng and labor and strive for heaven, , is to long and labor and strive for that state of life which is heaven. And that state is one of love to the Lord and the neighbor — the very opposite of man's natural or hereditary state, which is one of su- preme self-love. To seek heaven, therefore, is to seek the complete subjugation of our natural love of self and the world, and the exaltation or establishment of the Lord's own love and life in place of it. And this is to lose the old hereditary life, and to find a new life that is far higher and better. " He that loseth his life for my sake, shall find it," saith the Lord. And now compare the two doctrines — the Old and the New. Which is most rational and which most Scriptural? If this seems doubtful to any mind, we hope in subsequent chapters to remove such doubt. Then look at the two as to their practical tendency — their obvious influence upon life and character. Which is most wholesome, most stimulating, most benign and potent in its operation upon the receiver's mind and heart ? 64 HEAVEN RE VEALED. V. CHARACTER OF THE ANGELS. FR( )M what has been said of the essential nature of heaven, it is plain to be seen what ought to be the aeral and particular character of the angels — what their prevailing dispositions and motives, and how they ought uniformly to feel and act. But Swedenborg has himself sketched their character in many parts of his writings. Let us see, then, whether his sketch be such as ought to follow by logical sequence from the alleged ruling loves of all in heaven; and whether their charac- ter as portrayed by him, be in agreement with the laws of love as revealed in Holy Scripture. According to his disclosures, no one in heaven de- sires any good merely for himself; but it is the delight of every one there "to do good and communicate," hop* ing for nothing in return. Their highest happiness consists in freely imparting their joys to others, lie says : 44 Mutual love which reigns in heaven, consists in this: that each loves his neighbor more than himself. Hence the whole heaven constitutes, as it were, a single man, all being thus eonsociated by mutual love from the Lord. Hence it is, too, that the felicities of all are communicated to each individual, and those of each in- dividual to all : and hence the heavenly form is such, th.it every one is, as it were, a kind of centre, whence he is a centre of the communications, consequently of the felicities, proceeding from all; which take place ording to all the differences of that love, which are \NGEl 65 innumerable. And as they who arc principled in that e perceive the highest happiness m this circumstan that they arc capable of communicating to others what they receive by influx themselves, which they do from the heart, the communication is thus rendered perpetual and eternal ; in consequence of which the happiness of h increases in proportion to the increase of the I rd's kingdom. 91 — A. C. 2057. 44 When an angel docs good to any one, he also com- municates to him his own good, satisfaction and bless- edness, so that he is willing to give everything to the other, and to retain nothing. When he is in such com- munication, good flows- in with satisfaction and blessed- ness to him in a much greater degree than he gives, and this continually witli increase. But as soon as the thought occurs, that he wills to communicate what he has, to the intent that he may obtain that influx of satis- faction and blessedness in himself, the influx is dissi- pated ; and still more so, if anything presents itself of thought concerning recompense from him to whom he communicates his good. This it has been given me to know from much experience. Hence also it may be manifest that the Lord is in singulars, for He is such that He wills to give Himself to all; hence satisfaction and blessedness are increased with those who become images and likenesses of Him." — Ibid. n. 6478. Observe it is here said that u good flows-in with sat- isfaction and blessedness to him [who wills to give everything to others], in a far greater degree than he gives ; and this with continual increase." Which agrees perfectly with these words of the Lord — spiritually in- terpreted : u Give, and it shall be given unto you ; good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For w r ith the 66 HEAVEN REVEALED. same measure that ye mete withal, it shall be measured to you again/ 1 (Luke vi. 38.) But if an angel "wills to communicate what he has, to the intent that he may obtain that influx of satisfaction and blessedness in him- self, the influx is dissipated.' 1 And so, in respect to the purely disinterestedness of their love, and their desire to have others share their blessedness, the angels resemble the Lord Himself, whose delight it is to impart of his own life and blessedness to his creatures. No one in heaven aspires to be great above others. No one desires to have others honor or serve him per- sonally. All are more desirous of serving than of be- rved. " In heaven he is the greatest of all, who is the least of all/' says Swedenborg ; ''for whosoever wills to be least, has the greatest happiness, and conse- quently is the st." Vet " heaven does not con- sist in desiring to be least with a view to being the greatest, for in such desire there lurks the lust of pre- eminence ; but it consists in this, that every one should from the heart wish better to others than to himself, and should serve others with a view to their happiness, that is, from a principle of love that has no regard to selfish ends." (A. C. n. 452.) And the Lord says: "Whoso- ■r will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your nl ; even as the Son of Man came not to be minis- tered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." (Matt. xx. 26, '7, '8.) 1 I . again, we trace the resemblance of the angels to the Lord— precisely as it should be, if the}- are filled and animated by his Spirit. CIIA: I VGEL Then their humility, according to Swedenb< no 9 remarkable than their unselfish love. Notwith- standing their exalted wisdom, transcending by many frees that of the wisest men on earth, they are not puffed up on account of it. They have no pride of in- tellect, no self-derived intelligence, no self-righteous- ness. They regard none of the goods or truths they possess as their own ; but perceive and acknowledge and love to acknowledge that they are all the Lord's, and are his free and perpetual gift to them. " Because the angels believe this, therefore they re- fuse all thanks on account of the good they do, and are displeased and recede if any one attributes good to them. They wonder that any one should believe that he is wise and does good from himself. Good done for the sake of one's self, they do not call good, because it is done from self; but good done for the sake of good, this they call good from the Divine ; and this good, they say, is what makes heaven, because it is the Lord [for He is within it as its inmost principle. A. C. 1 802, 3951,8480]."— H.H.n. 9. Again : " He lives most, that is, most wisely and intelligently, most blessedly and happily, who is most confirmed in the belief that he does not live of himself; and this is the life of the angels, especially of the celestial who are the inmost or nearest to the Lord. ... In heaven they are the greatest who are the least, and they are the wis- est who perceive and think themselves the least wise ; and they are the happiest who desire others to be most happy, but themselves least so. Heaven consists in de- siring to be below all, but hell in desiring to be above all ; therefore in the glory of heaven there is nothing at all of the glory of this world." — A. C. n. 2654. 68 III-. 1 1 EN RE l EA t ED. This reveals the profound and beautiful humility of the angels; and in this consists their real exaltation. And there can be no spiritual exaltation of a finite be- in-', without similar humility. As it is written : " For whosoever exalteth himself, shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted." (Luke xiv. 1 1.) The angels are further described by Swedenborg as abounding in charity or neighborly love. Under the in- fluence of this principle, they seek perpetually to excite what is good and true in the minds of men and of each other ; and they are ever ready to overlook, or put the best possible construction on, whatever the}' perceive as evil and false. They have no inclination to spy out others' faults, or to condemn any one on account of them, but rather to find what is good and true in every one. "The\' who are in charity, scarcely see another's evils, but observe all that is good and true in him, and put a favorable interpretation upon what is evil and false. Such are all the angels; and they have this disposition from the Lord who turns all evil into good." — A. C. n. 1079. "They who are not in charity, think only evil of their neighbor! and speak nothing but evil of him ; or if they say what is good, they do it on their own account, or with a view to insinuate themselves into the favor of him whom they flatter with commendation. Those, however, who are in charity, think and speak nothing but what is good of their neighbor; and this not for their own sake, or to gain the favor of others, but from the Lord operating in charity. The former resemble the evil spirits, and the latter the an gel S who are attend- ant on man; for evil spirits always excite man's evils C//.1-. R OF TH v. and falsities, and condemn him ; whereas angels nothing but and truths, excusing what is evil and false. Hence it is evident, that such as arc not in char- ity arc under the dominion of evil spirits, by whom man has communication with hell ; and that such as arc in charity are governed by angels, by whom he has com- munication with heaven." — A. C. n. ioss. Such is the charity in which, we arc told, the an arc. And is it not the very spirit of the Lord's own Gospel ? Is it not in agreement with the spirit of the texts which counsel us not to judge, nor condemn, nor think evil of others; and not to be on the watch for a mote in a brother's eye, without thinking of the beam which needs first to be cast out of our own eye ? Look also at the innocence of the angels as portrayed by Swedenborg. And this word as employed by him, has a vastly deeper and more comprehensive meaning than is commonly given to it. It means not mere sin- lessness, or freedom from wrong in thought or deed; but a state of the highest wisdom, such as only those are in who have been brought to see that their natural proprium is altogether evil, and that whatever good they have is not their own but the Lord's ; and whose deep desire and purpose it is to be led of the Lord in all things, and who have no desire to lead themselves. It is, in short, the very esse of all goodness, for it is the Lord's own life in the soul. " It is said in heaven that innocence dwells in wis- dom, and that an angel has as much of wisdom as he has of innocence. That such is the case, they confirm by this, that those who are in a state of innocence attrib- ute nothing of good to themselves, but regard all their ;o in: a J EN RE J '/■:.! L ED. >ds as gifts received, and ascribe them to the Lord; that they wish to be led by Him, and not by them- selves ; that they love everything which is good, and are delighted with everything which is true, because they know and perceive that to love what is good, thus to will and to do it, is to love the Lord; and to love what is true, is to love their neighbor; that they live Eltented with their own, whether it be little or much, :ause they know that they receive as much as is prof- itable for them ; little, if little be profitable, and much, if much be profitable; and that they do not themselves know what is best for them, this being known only to the Lord, whose providence in all things contemplates eternal ends. Hence they are not anxious about the future. The\' call solicitude about the future, care for the morrow, which they say is grief for the loss or non- reception of things which are not necessary for the uses of life. In their intercourse with others they never act from an evil end, but from what is good, just and sin- cere. To act from an evil end, they call cunning, which they shun as the poison of a serpent, since it is alto- gether contrary to innocence. Because they love noth- ing more than to be led of the Lord, and acknowledge their indebtedness to Him for everything they receive, therefore they are removed from their proprium ; and in the degree that they are removed from their pro- prium, in the same degree the Lord flows-in. . . . Such is the innocence which is called the innocence of wis- dom.'— II. H. n. 278. We further learn from this new revelation, that the angels love even the worst of men, and constantly en- deavor to do them all the good they can. They feel only tenderest love and compassion for us, even in our states of deepest guilt and sin. However we may re- sist their hallowing influences, and close our hearts Ch ELS. 71 Jnst the precious things they 1< n ommun they never leave us, nor relax their efforts to do us >d. They contin ivor to withdraw and withhold us from evil to rescue our souls from the do- minion of infernal spirits. They do this, because the Lord'- own love is in them and in active operation; and it is the nature: of this love to do good to all, and to k the salvation audi happiness of all. The angels are, therefore, in the same ends as the Lord Himself, and sire the very things that lie desires. Hence they are called his ministers or " ministering spirits." (Heb. i. 14. See also Ps. ciii. 21 : civ. 4.) They are images and like- nesses of Himself. In them is fulfilled the great law of love delivered in these divine words : " Love your ene- mies ; bless them that curse you ; do good to them that hate you ; and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you ; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven ; for He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. — Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matt. v. 44-48.) Such is a brief sketch of the character of the heavenly inhabitants, as portrayed by Swedenborg. And is it not precisely such as might be expected, if heaven in its essential nature be what he says it is ? Is not every trait as here delineated, such as might be inferred from the alleged ruling loves of heaven? — such as follows by strict logical sequence from love to the Lord and love to the neighbor, when these loves rule supreme in the soul ? ?2 111. . 1 1 'EN RE I BALED. VI. VERDIi T OF REASON AND EXPERIENCE. NOW is this doctrine respecting heaven, as thus far opened, true? Let us see, — and we will first ex- amine it in the light of reason, common observation and human experience. ] lew ever people's ideas of heaven may differ in other respects, they all agree in this : that whoever goes there, will find great and enduring happiness. The Bible clearly warrants this belief. But in what does human happiness consist? What do reason, observation and experience teach on this point? Certainly that it does not consist in any outward appliances of which time and space are predicable. It is not those who are most comfortably lodged and luxuriously fed and royally ap- parelled, who are the happiest. By no means. True and enduring happiness is something which the wealth of the Indies cannot purchase. For it does not depend on the character or condition of things without, but on the character and condition of the world within us — on the state of the soul. Locate people as you may, place them in the midst of the loveliest surroundings, supply them with all the elegances, comforts and luxuries that wealth can furnish — houses, furniture, equipage, books, friends, companions, all that the natural man craves — and you will not thereby make them happy. They may appear and even esteem themselves happy for a time; but it is only an external delight, a merely natu- ral gratification which they experience, and which from \c'V AND EXPERI1 \ its very nature must soon pass away. Every person of much reflection or self-intuition, knows that " The mind is its OWD place, and in itself D make B heaven Of belli a hell of heaven." The soul very soon stamps its own complexion on a man's entire surroundings. The outer soon acquires the color and the key of our inner world ; becomes beauti- ful and harmonious if there be beauty and harmony within, but ugly and discordant if deformity and discord are in the soul. As one of our own poets sings: u It is the soul's prerogative, its fate To shape the outward to its own estate ; If right itself, then all around is well ; If wrong, it makes of all without a hell." No. It is in vain that men seek, with any hope of finding, true happiness from without — from any new po- litical, social, economic or industrial arrangements. We do not mean to say that some external arrangements may not be more useful than others in promoting inter- nal and spiritual culture. But real happiness can never come from without, but only from within — from a re- generate and well-ordered state of the soul, yea, from the Lord's own presence therein. It is the normal re- sult of obedience to the laws of our spiritual life. Let these laws be faithfully obeyed, and the soul is thereby opened to an influx of the Divine life, and the man is happy under almost any circumstances. But let them be violated, and no amount of purple and fine linen and sumptuous fere can ward off the evil consequences of such violation. The truly good man, however bereft of 7 74 HEAVEN REVEALED. comforts and luxuries, is never really miserable; nor is the bad man, though crowned with abundant earthly treasur s, ever truly happy. Lor true happiness never comes from without, but depends wholly on the condi- tion of the soul. How clearly did Milton see this, when he sang in strains no less true than beautiful: " He that hath light within Ins own clear breast, M iv sit ill the centre and enjoy bright d But be that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts, Benighted walks under the mid-day sun, Himself is his own dungeon.'' And another of England's poets says: " Know then this truth (enough for man to know), Virtue alone is happiness below. Condition, circumstance, is not the thing, — 3 is the same in subject and in king." And the same thing has been seen, if not sung, by every one who has received from the Creator a single spark of poetic inspiration. If, then, all who go to heaven are to be happy there, and if true happiness on earth comes only from a regen- erate and well-ordered state of the soul, the conclusion is forced upon us that heaven is not a place into which people may be admitted from immediate mercy, but a certain state of life. And it maybe further inferred that it is a similar state (it may be far more exalted and per- fect i to that which is known to be attended with the highest happiness on earth. And what is that state? Let reason, observation and experience testily. Consider that God is Law and Order itself, lie gov- erns the material universe by fixed and determinate laws. .(•/• OF RE t SdN ./ 75 Iii every form and condition of matter, laws pervade and presid it. We call them laws of matter, but they are really the Lawgiver's own vital presence in matter, — laws to which lie continually subjects matt \ml ry infraction of these laws, we know, is attended with more < >r less suffering. ( )ur corporeal frame has its laws — beneficent and God-ordained ; and bodily health and mfort can be enjoyed only on condition of the strict observance of these laws. They cannot be transgressed with impunity. If we overwork our bodies or our brains, if we indulge our appetites to excess, if we take poison (be it food or drink) into the system, if wc breathe a vitiated atmosphere or neglect all bodily exercise for a considerable time, we must suffer the penalty of every such infraction of the body's laws, — a penalty always proportioned to the extent of the violation. Now, mind has its laws as well as matter. There are laws of the soul as well as of the body. And it is just as essential to the health of the soul — as essential, there- fore, to human happiness — that these spiritual laws be obeyed, as it is to the body's health and comfort that we obey the laws of our physical being. All these laws are divine — are God's laws ; and none of them can be transgressed with impunity. If the soul's laws, there- fore, be violated, the soul will be sick and suffer, and un- happiness will ensue ; as certainly as bodily sickness and suffering follow the transgression of the body's laws. But where and what are the laws of the soul, on the observance of which human happiness is conditioned? They are all contained in the Word of the Lord. The Word is, indeed, the Book of Life, for herein are recorded yG HEAVEN REVEALED. all the laws of our spiritual life. Yet some of these laws may be rationally inferred. The\- may be learned from experience and observation. Since they are God's laws, they must all be laws of love, and therefore good ; and ii carefully obeyed, they must produce the greatest pos- sible amount of happiness. Obedience to divine laws can never be attended with unhappincss. This is ever the result of disobedience. Now every one knows that people are not happy who are governed by an inordinate self-love, and who seek their own good exclusively, regardless of the good of their neighbor. Every one who has not wholly quenched the Divine Spirit within him, feels that, in obeying at all times the promptings of self-interest — living and acting with a supreme and exclusive regard to himself — he is not obeying the will of God, nor that law of life which God has ordained. He is inwardly conscious of living and acting otherwise than the Heavenly Father would have him. Nor is he happy — far from it — in the per- petual indulgence of his love of self. He is restless and sour and hard and morose. And not only docs this love make the soul of its possessor unhappy, but its indul- gence is attended with unhappiness to others. Its ten- dency is altogether evil. Let all men act in obedience to its promptings, and universal hatred, anarchy, war and wretchedness would be the inevitable consequence. Nor are those persons happy who are in the lust of dominion — who seek to exalt themselves above others and to rule over others ; nor those who pride themselves on their attainments, and desire to be esteemed and honored above others on account of them ; nor those who ;/)/(•/' \SON AND EXPERIEM ;j cherish hatred and n . who indulge in bitter and vindictive feelings toward enemies. All such disposi- tions and feelings arc the legitimate offspring of self love, and utterly opposed to the laws of life which God has revealed for the government of human spirits. And from the bosoms in which they dwell, they drive away all genuine peace, and induce a restless fever-heat which burns and burns to the core of life — a tormenting fire of hell. Very different is the case with those who obey the laws of neighborly love; whose supreme desire is to render themselves useful — to do all the good they can in the world; who love, and seek to do good to, even their enemies ; who have no desire to rule over but only to serve others ; who care little for mere earthly rewards — the honors or praises of men ; who claim no merit on account of what they know or do, but in their hearts acknowledge their utter dependence on the Lord, and ascribe all the honor and glory to Him. These are the truly great, wise and noble ones of earth, however ob- scure their names or humble their abode. Viewed in the light of that truth by which all souls are to be finally judged, they shine like stars even in this world. They are the golden links in God's great chain of love, con- necting men on earth with the angels in heaven. Men call them angels — for some perception of the quality of angelic life is vouchsafed to many here on earth. And such persons, too, are the only ones who know what true and substantial happiness is. They are happy because they obey the highest laws — laws divinely or- dained and revealed for the government of human be- 7* yS HEAVEN REVEALED. ings. And the nearer men approach to this state, or to the quality of angelic life as disclosed bySwedenborg — the more faithfully they obey all the revealed laws of the higher or regenerate life — the more pure, serene and ex- alted is their happiness. This has been the universal erience of mankind in all ag But Swedenborg does not teach that the happiness of heaven in all its fullness, can ever be enjoyed on earth. We must lay aside the material body before we can arrive at the perfection of that state denoted by the term heaven. The blessedness experienced here on earth resulting from strict conformity to the highest laws, or from the highest spiritual state to which we are capable of attaining here, is obscure and meagre when compared with that which regenerate' souls will enjoy in the world beyond. Ac- cordingly Swedenborg says : "The man who is in the loves of self and the world, long as lie lives in the body feels delight from these loves, and also in each of the pleasures to which they give birth. But the man who is in love to God and the neighbor, does not, so long as he lives in the body, feel a manifest delight from these loves and fr^om the good affections thence derived, but only a blessedness almost imperceptible, because it is stored up in his interiors, and veiled by the exteriors which are of the body, and blunted by worldly care-. " But the states are entirely changed after death. The delights of the love of self and the world arc then turned into painful and horrible sensations, which are called hell-fire, and occasionally into things defiled and filthy corresponding to their unclean pleasures which — strange to say — are then delightful to them. But the obscure delight and almost imperceptible blessedness which had FCT OF REASON AND EXPERIEN 70 >vecl by those in the world who were in love to 1 and in love toward the neighbor, are then turned into the delight of heaven, which becomes perceptible and sensible in all manner of ways; for that blessedn which lay stored up and hidden in their interiors when they lived in the world, is then revealed and brought forth into manifest sensation, because they are then in the spirit, and that was the delight of their spirit." — II. II. n. 401. " All goods increase immensely in the other life. But man's life while in the body is such that he cannot go beyond loving his neighbor as himself, because he is in corporeal principles; but when these are removed the love becomes more pure, and at length angelic, which is to love the neighbor more than one's self. For in heaven it is delightful to do good to another, and not delightful to do good to themselves unless in order that the good may become another's, thus for the sake of another ; and this is to love the neighbor more than themselves." — Ibid. n. 406. Heaven, then, according to the New Christianity, is essentially a state of life. And if happiness must enter into our idea of it, as an essential element, then it can be no other than the very state that Swedenborg says it is ; and the angels, if human and subject to the laws or- dained for the government of human beings, must be of precisely the character that he has so often and so vividly portrayed. The nature of the heavenly life can be none other than that he describes. This is the clear and undeniable testimony of enlightened reason, com- mon observation, and all human experience. To sup- pose the character of the angels to be at all different from that revealed through him — to suppose them pos- So ///•;./ 1 v/.v re i v;. / /. ED. ssed of different dispositions and feelings, to be actu- ated by different motives, to desire and seek different ends, would be to suppose them not thoroughly imbued with the spirit of the Gospel, not subject to the laws of the higher life as revealed in the Divine Word, not inl- and likenesses of the Lord, not children of the Heavenly Father, and therefore not his ''ministering jits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation." But what is the testimony of Holy Scripture on the subject? We have incidentally introduced some of it already ; but we will consider this question more in de- tail, and answer it more fully, in the next chapter. VII. TESTIMONY OF SCRIPTURE. THE next question to be considered is : Does this doctrine concerning the essential nature of heaven and the character of the angels as delineated by Swe- denboi ree with the teachings of the Bible? If not, devout and reverent souls will be slow, as they ought, about accepting it. But right here, is the place to say, that human rationality is as truly the gift of God as the red Scripture. And before accepting such an inter- pretation of Scripture as would make the Bible contra- diet the clear intuitions of reason and all human experi- ence, we ought carefully to consider whether it l\oq<> not IMONY 0/ SCRIPTURE, admit of sonic other interpretation more accordant with the testimony of these two witnesses. All who desire that the credit and authority of the Bible be maintain must desire to see its language interpreted in such a manner (if this can be fairly done) as to make its teach- [S tall\' with the intuitions of our highest reason. Those who give to Scripture such an interpretation as requires 'for its acceptance) the annihilation of reason or the repudiation of the lessons of experience, know not what they do. For in this way the)- are weakening the faith of thoughtful people in the divinity of the Scriptures, and engendering a skepticism none the less real and obstinate for being carefully concealed. It is not the least among the merits of the New Chris- tian Dispensation, that, while firmly based upon the in- spired Word, it is yet a dispensation of rational religious truth. It holds that the Bible rightly interpreted, will ever be found in complete accord with the teachings of enlightened reason, true science, sound philosophy, hu- man experience and the well-ascertained laws of our mental and moral constitution. If this claim be well- founded, we ought to be able to show that the new doc- trine announced by Swedenborg and affirmed by rea- son and experience, concerning the essential nature of heaven, is fully sustained by the teachings of Scripture. See, then, if this be not actually the case. " To the Law and to the Testimony." If Swedenborg " speak not ac- cording to this Word, it is because there is no light in him." (Isa. viii. 20.) First, it is not to be denied that the Bible, interpreted in its lowest or strictly literal sense, often speaks of F 82 N REVEALED. heaven as if it were located in some region of space The sacred penmen, when treating of it, make use of .such terms as are uniformly employed in speaking of places. Thus they speak of going to heaven, of looking towards heaven, of ascending up into heaven, of looking wn and coming down from heaven, etc. — language which, understood in its strictly literal sense, certainly favors the old idea of heaven as a place. Besides, it is metimes called a place ; as where our Lord, speaking of the " Father's house" (by which Christians generally understand that heaven is meant), says : " I go to pre- pare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye maybe also." (John xiv. 2, 3.) This is one of the strongest passages cited to prove that heaven is a. place. "The Bible calls it a/>A?;Y, and does not the Bible mean what it says?" — is the usual form of the argument resorted to by the old theologians. But the Bible, as we believe and as Swedenborg everywhere teaches, has both a natural and a spiritual sense related like body and soul. The spiritual is the true and real sense, as the soul is the true and real man; for the Bible was given to instruct mankind about spir- itual and not about natural things. Accordingly all places mentioned in Scripture, signify, in their true spir- itual sense, certain states of life — for place corresponds to state. And all words which, in their natural sense, refer to places and changes of place, in their spiritual sense refer to mental states and changes of state. Thus the Bible speaks of certain persons being far from the Lord, and of others as being tteOT Him. It also invites IMONY OF SCRIPTURi 83 us to look to Ilim.to rfi to Him, Him, come unto Him, etc. And is it to be understood from this, as really teaching that some people are nearer to God than others as to space, or according to the natu- ral idea? Or that, to look unto Him we must turn our natural faces to some particular point of the compass? — or to follow 1 lim or come UHtO Him, our bodies must piss through a portion of space ? This is what it appears to teach — what it actually does teach if its words must he rpreted in their merely natural sense. But ever\- one sees that such a literal interpretation would be most absurd. Every one knows that, to be far from the Lord, is to be far from Him spiritually — distance from Him being difference in state, remoteness from that state of pure and unselfish love in which He is, and which is Himself. And to look unto Him, is to look with the understanding, or the mind's eye, to those divine-human qualities revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. To follow Him, or draio nigh unto Him, is not to pass through any natural space, but to pass from a low, carnal, selfish state; to one more internal, pure and unselfish — more like that of the Lord Himself. We fol- low Him when we obey his precepts — deny self — engage in spiritual conflict with the hells within us, as He did while glorifying the assumed human. And we thus ap- proach nearer to Him by becoming spiritually more like Him — receiving more of his own divine-human life into our hearts. So, too, when the angels are said to descend from heaven to men, we are not to understand that they come down through space, but that they descend to men's states with heavenly gifts suited to their wants and their 84 HEAVEN REVEALED. capacity to receive; comparatively as a wise teacher com WH to the states of little children with instruc- tion adapted to their feeble capacity. And when the Lord says, u I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world ; again I leave the world and go to the .-.her," no one understands Him as meaning that He came from or passed through any particular region of Space* He came by assuming a material body, whereby Jle was enabled to descend to the very ultimates of hu- manity with regenerating and saving power. And from this lowest state lie (as to his assumed human) passed, by a process of glorification of which our regeneration is an image, through all superior states, even to a full and perfect union with the Divine. This is the way in which 1 Ie again left the world, as He says, and :,\nt to the Father. And in this way, too, He prepared a place in the Father's house for all his faithful followers; that is, He made possible, henceforward, the salvation and happiness of all who should, by his divine aid, be brought into states of genuine good and truth however humble. But the Scripture furnishes testimony on this subject still more explicit and conclusive. We read that the Pharisees, on one occasion, asked our Lord " when the kingdom of God should come." And this was his an- swer : " The kingdom of God cometh not with observa- tion : Neither shall they say, Lo, here ! or lo, there ! For behold the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke xvii. 20, 2 1.) Now the kingdom of God and the king- dom of heaven mean one and the same thing; for heaven IS his kingdom. (Compare Matt. v. 3 with Luke vi. 20: also Matt. iv. \j with Mark i. 15 ; and Matt. xix. 14 with TESTIMONY OF SCRIPTUR* Mark x. 14.) We have, then, the plain testimony of Scripture, that heaven or the kingdom of heaven is not without but within the soul. It cannot, therefore, be located. It cannot he said to be in any particular fi/a for it is in all heavenly-minded people wherever they maybe. Therefore it must he a state of life. But dors the Scripture tell us what is the nature of that state ? And if SO, how does its teaching tally with Sweden- bora's ? And here the primitive meaning of the original Greek and Hebrew word for heaven, should first receive atten- tion. The I Icbrcw word for it is shama-yim f which means the firmament, or the region of space above the earth. It comes from an obsolete root shdmd, the meaning of which in the cognate Arabic language is, to be high or lifted up. And to this Arabic radical lexicographers re- fer the Hebrew term as denoting a high locality. The Greek ouranos which answers to the Hebrew shdma-yim, and is also translated by our English lieavcn, means the same as the Hebrew — the region above or the vast con- cave surrounding the earth. (See Schleusners Greek and Latin Lexicon}) And most philologists derive it from the Greek orao y to see — as referring to the space above or around the earth, that is pervaded by the light of the sun. Heaven, then, according to the literal meaning of the term in both the Hebrew and Greek, denotes an elevated place. And in the Bible it is said to be high, and to be located 071 high. Accordingly, it is common for little children to think and speak of heaven as a place up in the sky; for it is not to be expected that they should think otherwise than according to the sense of the let- 8 86 HEAVEN REVEAL, ter. And many adults have not advanced beyond this natural childish thought Now why is it that a state of angelic love and bliss, should be designated in Holy Scripture by a word which, in its strictly literal sense, means a high place f Swedenborg furnishes a satisfactory answer to this question in his doctrine concerning the ipture, teaching us that it contains both a natural and spiritual sense which correspond like body and soul. Accordingly there is natural height and spiritual height; or elevation in space, and elevation of state. Whenever a high place, therefore, is mentioned in the Word, a high mental or spiritual state is what is denoted in the spiritual and true sense. But what is a high spiritual state? Is it any other than a state of elevated thought, affection and purpose? — a state of pure and unselfish love ? — a state in which we think of and seek after, not merely our own good, but the highest good of our neighbor also, in the largest as well as the smallest form. Persons of this character are spiritually near the Lord, and may well be said to dwell on high. They are spiritually on high, for they live above the world while in it. Hence it is often said of such, whose lives are devoted to lofty and beneficent ijnds, that the\- are superior persons — persons of elevated desires, exalted views, lofty aims, etc. And the Scripture -.nth, "lie that humbleth himself, shall be exalted!' Every one perceives that spiritual exaltation is what is here meant, or that elevation of state which comes from subduing our selfish and infernal propensities — from hum- bling self, and permitting the Lord alone to be exalted to the supreme place in the soul. Tl UPTURi The state of life, therefore, in which Swedenborg tells us the angels are, is clearly a A*£*A state. I fence we may understand why heaven is said to be on high, and why the word itself in both the Greek and Hebrew, accord- ing to its primitive literal import, means a locality that is high. And we may see, too, why man IS said to have n made M a little lower than the angels." In his (alien or unregenerate state, he is a great deal lower. Because the word high when used in Scripture has such spiritual signification, denoting elevation of state, or purity of love and exaltation of wisdom, therefore the Lord is called the Most High, and is said to dwell on high, above the earth and above the heavens. Certainly natural or spatial elevation is not to be thought of, when such things are predicated of the omnipresent Jehovah. No. It is because He is the highest as to state or qual- ity of life — infinitely exalted above men and angels as to the quality and degree of his love and wisdom, that He is said to be the Highest, above the earth and the heavens. And what is it that really exalts men, or makes them spiritually high, but such a reception of the Lord's love and wisdom as recreates them in his own image and likeness ? This lifts their souls on high. We know it is not uncommon for Christians, when in a cold, external, or very low state of mind, to pray that the Lord would lift them up out of that state. And the Psalmist speaks of God's setting certain ones " on high? and of others being " brought low H — where it is plain that these terms have no reference whatever to space, but to mental state. But the Bible furnishes still more positive evidence HEAVEN RE VEALED. concerning the essential nature of heaven. It contains, as Christians generally believe, all the laws of our spir- itual life. And these laws must be in their nature eter- nal as the soul itself, for they are laws of the soul. They are spiritual laws, and must therefore exist and operate wherever human spirits exist — in the Here- after as well as here. Whatever laws, therefore, the Bible contains for the government of human beings here on earth, are the very laws to which the angelic hosts are subject. " Forever, O Jehovah, thy Word is estab- lished in heaven," says the inspired Psalmist: Which clearly authorizes the conclusion that the truth of God's Word is the law of life for the angels in heaven. And the Lord I limself, when speaking as the Word incar- nate, says: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven/ 1 The living bread from heaven can be none other than the Lord's own love and wisdom, the goods and truths of his Word; and these are Himself. These are what feed and nourish the angels, and coming down from heaven (that is, being properly clothed, and accommodated to our low human condition) give life — spiritual and eternal life — to the world. To receive the goods and truths of the Word in such a manner as to make them of our life, to have our souls filled and vital- ized b)' them, is to receive the Lord Himself. It is to eat his flesh and drink his blood. This is " the bread of life" — "the true bread from heaven." " If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever." And there can be no true spiritual life without it. " Except ye eat the fle.^h of the Son of Man and drink his blood, ye have no life in you," saith the Lord. That no material flesh or TESTIMONY OF SCAIPTUR* blood is here meant, but the good of the Lord's own love .uul the truths of wisdom with which his Word is all aglow, is plain enough ; for, as if to place the mean- ing beyond all doubt, this is immediately added : " It is the spirit that quickeneth ; the flesh profiteth nothin the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life." (John vi. 51-63.) And so we have Di- vine authority for affirming that the Lord's words are the living bread of heaven — the food on which the an- gels live. Furthermore, we are taught to pray that the Lord's will may be done on earth as it is done in heaven. What can this mean but that men on earth should de- sire and seek after the life of heaven ? — Should cherish such loves as the angels cherish, act from such motives as the angels act from, aim at such ends as the angels aim at, and in all things endeavor to conform their lives to the revealed laws or will of the Lord as the an- gels do. Now if we can learn from the written Word what is the essential nature of the life which men on earth are capable of receiving, and which God desires they should receive, we may then know what kind of life the angels receive, or what is the essential nature of heaven. In other words, we may learn how the angels live, by see- ing how the Lord requires those to live whom He de- sires and is endeavoring to make angels. We read in the prophecy by Micah: " He hath showed thee, O man, what is good ; and what doth Je- hovah require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (vi. 8.) 8* 90 HEAVEN REVEALED. And in tl pel by Matthew: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great com- mandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself On these two command- ments hang all the law and the prophets." (xxii. 37-40.) The meaning of which is, that the sum and substance of all that the law and the prophets teach, is comprehended in these two commandments. In other words, that these are the comprehensive principles or leading ideas which the Scripture everywhere inculcates. .And if these ought to be men's governing principles or ruling loves, then they must be the ruling loves of peo- ple in heaven. Again we read "God is love; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God and God in him. . . . And this commandment have we from Him, That he who loveth God, love his brother also." (1 John iv. 16, 21.) And again : "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them ; for this is the law and the prophets:" Again teaching us th.it love is the vital and pervading principle of the whole of the inspired Word. And if such be the re- vealed law of life for men on earth, must it not also be the law of life for those in heaven? We thus see that the Bible affords abundant confir- mation of the truth of what Swedcnborg has told us in jard to the essential nature of heaven, or the kind of life that prevails there. And when love of the Lord and the neighbor is the ruling love in any mind, it is clear that all subordinate loves thence proceeding must needs be good. Those 111 whom this love bears rule, TESTIMi '/■' SCRIPTURa <,f can have no narrow 01 h aims. Then' supreme i sire and pur: 'ill be, by performin \ the highest use they arc made capable of perform ii They will not f "to do good and communicate," knowing that, "with such sacrifices God is well pleased." They will intend nothing and do nothing but what will contribute to the welfare and happiness of their neigh- bor. In short, they will study to know, and in all things seek to do, the will of their heavenly Father. .And this, according to Swedenborg, is precisely what the angels intend, seek, love and do. Thus far in our inquiry, we have found the truth of Swedenborg's disclosures to be amply sustained by rea- son and Scripture and the known laws of the human soul. We have seen that angels were not created such, but were all once inhabitants of the natural world; that they are all human — men advanced to a higher and more perfect state. This view presents the angelic host, not at an immeasurable distance from, but in a near and brotherly relation to, people here on earth ; while at the same time it reveals the -possibility, and can hardly fail (one would think) to kindle in the hearts of believers the desire of some clay becoming angels themselves. It has been further shown that every man takes his own life with him into the other world, and that his life is his ruling love. This is the soul's real life. And such as is the nature or quality of this love at the time of death, such it remains. And since heaven is essen- tially a state of life, therefore all who go to heaven must can*)' their heaven with them ; at least they must 92 hi. \ i '/■ x RE i '/■:.-/ 1 ED. carry its germ, its essence, something of that unselfish love which, in its full and final expansion, makes heaven an 1 its delights. We can carry with us into the other world no other life, and can have no other there, than that which we have sought and in some degree formed for ourselves while in the flesh. Therefore none can enter heaven, save those who have learned to love and live the life of heaven — have learned to think and feel and will and act to some extent like the angels. Look, now, at this teaching in a practical point of view. What is its manifest and legitimate tendency? Can we conceive of anything calculated to exert a more benign influence on the hearts and lives of those who receive it? — anything better fitted to liftmen above a mean selfishness and sordid avarice, to enlarge their hearts, purify their motives and exalt their aims? — any instruction more healthy and stimulating, or better cal- culated to make the receiver honest and unselfish, kind and forgiving, just and generous, meek and pure and lowly in heart? — any that offers a stronger inducement to deny self, take up the cross, and follow the Lord in the regeneration ? In the light of this new doctrine it is clear that if we ever go to heaven we must begin on earth to form a heavenly character. We see the weight of an endless eternity pressing upon each day and hour of our exist- ence here below ; and seeing this, we shall see and feel the need of continual repentance, earnest prayer, daily watchfulness and ceaseless effort to subdue within us (with Divine assistance) whatever is contrary to the life of heaven; — the need of continual striving to think, tPTURl 93 will and acf under the influence of tin- Lord's own love, and according to the revealed laws of angelic life. Is it ►d and useful to mingle in the society, read the bi< raphies and contemplate the character of true and right- eous men? Does it quicken our aspirations, exalt our aims and incite us to higher and nobler endeavor? I low much more quickening and exalting in its ten- dency, then, must be that pure and lofty standard of humanity as revealed through Swedenborg in the char- acter ol the angels 1 Its tendency is to raise us to the stature of spiritual manhood; for it discloses the sub- lime capabilities of the human soul — reveals the true <4 measure of a man, that is, of the angel." (Rev. xxi. 17.) Let the hearts and lives of all men be formed after this heavenly pattern, and what a different world would this of ours be ! Tne wilderness would indeed be changed to Eden, the desert to the garden of the Lord. People of different ranks and professions, of various climes and colors, would then form a shining band of brothers, bound each to each by the golden links of love. No hate, no scorn,' no pride, no avarice, no self- seeking, no injustice, no tyranny, no violation of any of the divine laws of brotherhood, but mutual love and mutual help, united with deep humility and confiding trust, would be here. The Father's will would be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Men would be, as the angels are, God's ministering servants, striving mutually to aid and bless each other. A great family of loving, joyous, happy, obedient children, all looking up with filial love and reverence to their heavenly Father, and 94 HEAVEN REVEALED. suffering themselves evermore to be led by his unerring hand. Such would this world be if the life in heaven as dis- closed to us by Swedenborg, were brought down to earth. And the whole object of this New Revelation IS to prepare suitable recipient vessels, and thus aid in bringing it down. And what would this be, but a prac- tical exemplification of the true Christian Religion? — the grand predicted triumph of the gospel of peace and love ? — the promised second coming of the Lord, " with power and great glory"? — the blissful period of the church foreshadowed in the Revelation under the figure of "the Holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven from d, having the glory of God: " when "the tabernacle of God shall be with men, and 1 Ie will dwell with them, and the\- shall be his people, and God Himself shall be with them, their God." (xxi. 3.) But the ruling loves of the angels are not the loves of any of us in our natural or unregenerate state. They are not such loves as we receive hereditarily, but loves that are born of God. Before we can become angels, therefore, a radical change must take place within us. What is the nature of this change, and how is it to be wrought? In other words, how is the heavenly state to be attained ? What is the sure pathway to the abodes of bliss? We will answer this question in the next chapter. THl WA Y TO HEAVE \". 95 VIII. THE SURE 1 1 '.I)' TO HEAVEN. A SUBJECT of transcendent interest and import- ance, — «ancl this seems as suitable a place as any for its treatment. It is none other, indeed, than an in- quiry as to the sure way of attaining the end for which we were created — a state of internal and spiritual con- junction with the Lord; which is the highest and most perfect state that a human being is capable of attaining — a state of unutterable bliss. We have already shown — we trust with sufficient clearness — that heaven is not a place, but a state of life. And the nature of that state has also been made suf- ficiently plain. But we are none of us naturally or by inheritance in the state denoted by heaven, but in one quite the opposite ; for we are naturally dominated by a supreme love of self, which is the ruling love of those in hell. If we ever reach the kingdom of heaven, there- fore, our hereditary state must be wholly changed, and a new state be formed, by a process which the Bible calls regeneration, or a )iciv creation. Thus the old hereditary life of self-love and the love of the world must be cast aside or die, and a new and higher life be received from the Divine Humanity — the life of love to the Lord and the neighbor. It needs no argument to prove that the state of the natural man is the very opposite to that of heaven. This is well known to all. Look at the character and con- duct of men who follow their natural bent, who never cjG he. 1 1 y/.v RE 1 7 ■:.-/ /- /•:/>. think of practising self-denial, but always yield to the promptings of their hereditary inclinations. Do such men live and act like the angels ? Do they seek first — that is, as the thing of supreme moment — the king- dom of God and his righteousness? Do they regard their neighbor's good — the good of the community, the slate, the church, the Lord's kingdom — as paramount to their own, or as a matter of even equal concern ? Do they not, on the contrary, act with sole reference to their own private interests, regardless of the welfare or the rights of their neighbor? Do not the past history and present condition of mankind prove that an absorbing and predominant selfishness is the withering curse of our race? lias it not eaten like a canker into the souls of men, and left its sad and sickening blight on every feature of human society ? And if we look into our own hearts, do we not there learn the same melancholy fact? Do we not find that self-love is naturally our ruling love? Is it not a diffi- cult task — one that requires us to struggle against our natural inclination — to do always the thing which we know to be right in the sight of God ? — to obey the re- vealed laws of neighborly love? — to do to others as we would have them do to us ? — to return good for evil, blessing for cursing? — to love, bless, do good to and pray for our enemies? Everyone knows that, to do this, often requires much self-denial and self-compulsion, and sometimes a pretty severe internal struggle with "the old man." And this single fact, that the laws of our higher life cannot be obeyed by us without an effort 7//: 97 at self-denial sometimes severe and painful, proves that our hereditary life is the opposite of heavenly life. And the teaching of the Bible, too, s with our private experience and the experience and history of our rare. The Scripture throughout recognizes man's hered- itary state as a perverted, disorder!)', fallen state. It represents Him as alienated from God, opposed to his laws, averse to doing his commandments; as spiritually Corrupt, defiled, diseased throughout; as dead in tres- passes and sins, and utterly unfit for the kingdom of heaven. Therefore the natural love of self must he de- nied, resisted and overcome. This old hereditary life must be forsaken or lost for the Lord's sake, that is, for the sake of that new and higher life which is his own — his very Self. Agreeable to his own words : " He that loseth his life for my sake, shall find it." (Matt. x. 39.) The natural heart must be re-created in the Divine image and likeness, or rather a new heart (or will) must be formed within and above the old one, before we can reach the heavenly state, or enter into the kingdom of heaven. Therefore the Lord says : " Except a man be born again [literally, bom from abovc\ he cannot see the kingdom of God." To be born from above, is to be born of Him who is above all, even the Most High. It is to be spiritually created anew in the image of our Divine Lord and Master. It is to receive from Him those sweet affections, and holy desires, and humble feelings, and noble purposes which belong to all heavenly states of mind, and which come down to us from God out of heaven. All who are thus " born from above," are, as Paul says, " a new creation. Old things are passed away; 9 O //. VEALED. behold all things arc become new." (2 Cor. v. 17.) And by this inward spiritual renewal they become the true children of God. They receive a continual influx of his divine spirit — the spirit of gentleness, meekness, patience, love, forbearance, forgiveness, and heroic self-sacrifice for others' good. In their thoughts, dispositions and pur] , they resemble their Father in the heavens. They have their Father's name written in their foreheads. Thus Paul writes to the church at Kphcsus : " That ye put niT . . . the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man which after God i> created in righteousness and true holiness/ 1 (iv. 22- 24.) In like manner Swcdcnborg, but more full and ex- plicit : "When man is regenerated, he becomes altogether another man, and is made new; therefore also when he is regenerated, In: is said to be born again, and created anew. In this case, although his face is like what it was b and also his speech, yet his mind is not like his former mind ; for his mind when lie is regenerated, i- ()])■> n Inwards heaven, and there dwells therein love to the Lord and charity towards his neighbor, together with faith. It is the mind which makes another and a W man. Change of state cannot be perceived in the body of man, but in his spirit, the body being only the covering of his spirit; and when it is put off, then his spirit appears, and this in altogether another form when he is regenerated ; for it has then the form of love and charity in beaut}- inexpressible, instead of its pristine form, which was that oi hatred and cruelty with a de- formity also inexpressible. Hence it may be seen what V TO HEAV1 a regenerate person is, or one that is born again, or cre- ated anew, viz. t that he is altogether another and a new man." — A. I . 3212. And so, conformably to this doctrine concerning the corrupt and anti-heavenly state of the natural heart, the Bible throughout teaches that a great work is to be done before we can enter the kingdom of heaven. It teaches that we must believe in, look to, and follow after the Lord Jesus Christ; "for without me," He says, "ye can do nothing. 91 It teaches that we must learn and live according to the laws of the heavenly life which He has revealed ; — must " hear the Word of God and do it," else we cannot be fit for an abode among the blessed. It insists on the necessity of repentance, self-denial, watchfulness and prayer. Its language is : M Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." " Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself." " What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." " Pray without ceas- ing." It represents the life of those journeying heaven- ward, as a struggle, a warfare, a ceaseless conflict with the inclinations of the natural man, " the foes of our own household." It says : " Strive [literally, agomze\ to enter in through the strait gate." " These [the mul- titude whom the seer of Patmos beheld 'arrayed in white robes '] are they who came out of great tribula- tion." And the Lord says : " If any man will come af- ter me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake, shall find it." (Matt. xvi. 24, '5.) Yes : Following in the footsteps of our Divine Master IOO HEAVEN REVEALED. — resisting and overcoming, through his ever-present divine aid, the evil inclinations of our hereditary nature, as He resisted and overcame the evils in his assumed humanity — this is the sure and the only sure way to heaven. And this requires faith, courage, sacrifice, en- durance, spiritual conflict and a willingness to give up our own selfish life for the Lord's sake — for the sake, that is, of that higher, purer, diviner life which He is at all times ready and longing to give, and which is Himself A man's life is his love; and our lik is the life we receive by natural inheritance — the life of self- love and love of the world. But this is not our true life. It is not properly human life. True human or spiritual life is the Lord's own life in the soul of man. It is the life of genuine charity — the living and active operation of a love that is quite the opposite of the love of self. This latter love must be denied and overcome before we can receive such love as the angels feel, and which is the Lord's own. Thus we must lose our life for the Lord's sake, else we cannot find that which is our true and heavenly life. Therefore lie says that a man must liatc his own lift, else u he cannot be my disciple.'' 1 1 ,uke xiv. 26.) The apostle Paul also says: "We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." And he exhorts us to " fight the ^ood fight of faith " — pointing, plainly, to that spiritual warfare to be carried on within our own breasts by means of the truths of faith from the Word— a warfare against our natural proprium, or the ruling loves of the natural man. .And these truths which are the weapons of our warfare — the weapons TIL HEAVi lOl wherewith we arc to combat our pride, conceit selfishness and all other hereditary evils — the same ap< calls the " armour of ( V id/ 1 and " the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." (Eph. vi. 13, i;. The \j rd il ches that we are spiritually cl — are sanctified and saved, that is, brought out of a hell- ish and into a heavenly state, by means of the truth. " And for their sakes/' I te says, " I sanctity myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth." 11 Sanctify them through thy truth ; thy Word is truth." (John xvii. 17, 19.) It is the truth of God's Word which makes manifest our evils, and teaches us how to overcome them. It is the truth, therefore, by means of which we are spiritually washed and purified, and thus saved from sin and its consequences. But the Bible, we shall be told, teaches that it is the blood of Christ which cleanseth from all sin. And so, indeed, it is. But what spiritual thing docs the blood of Christ stand for or signify? It is the symbol of the precious and ever-living truth of the Word. This truth is the Lord's own life-blood which is forever being poured out for the purification and salvation of human souls. This, or the Lord operating through its instru- mentality, can cleanse from sin, and clothe our souls in robes of righteousness. Hence that angelic throng which the Revelator beheld arrayed in white, are said to " have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." But we are not spiritually cleansed, or brought into the heavenly state, by simply understanding and believing 102 HEAVEN RE VEALED. the truth. Only by d it — shunning as sins against God the indulgence of those dispositions and feelings which the truth condemns, can the nature of our ruling love be changed. By first compelling ourselves to yield obedience to the requirements of truth, we arc brought at last into a state in which obedience is spontaneous and delightful. This is the heavenly state. And then our hearts are open to the influx of the Lord's love which is the life and soul of truth. We then eat his flesh and drink his blood, and He dwells in us and we in 1 1 i in. This, then, is the sure way to heaven ; for it is the way to pass out of that low, carnal, selfish state in which we all are by inheritance, into that high, spiritual, un- selfish state in which the angels are. Nor is any other way possible — any other than this: first learning and then religiously practicing the revealed laws of the heav- enly life. This is the teaching of Sacred Scripture as well as of enlightened reason and human experience. Accordingly we read : " Xot every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but he thatdoetA the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Watt. vii. 21.) " Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doctli them, I will liken him unto a wise man who built his house upon a rock. . . . And every one that doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man who built his house upon the sand." (v. 24.) Jesus saith : " And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and dt> not the things which I say ?" (Luke vi. 46.) "And lie answered and said unto them, My mother HE A VI i ) and my brethren are these which hear the Word of I rod and do it." | Luke viii. 21.) " He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will mani- [f to hi:n." (John xiv. 21.) " And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the \ y according to their r&s" I Rev. xx. 12.) And so throughout the inspired Volume. Again and in are we told that it is only by obeying the voice of the Lord, following after Him, keeping his com- mandments, learning; and doing' the truth, that we can arrive at the heavenly state ; and that, in the great Hereafter, every one will be judged according to his works, 11 That a man is saved," says Swedenborg, " accord- ing to his works, the Lord also teaches in his parables, eral of which imply that they who do good are ac- cepted, and that they who do evil are rejected. (See Matt. xxi. 33-44; xxv. I — 1 2, 14-34. Luke xiii. 6; xix. 13-25; x. 30-37; xvi. 19-31.) . . . Nevertheless, there are many in Christian churches, who teach that faith alone is saving, and not any good of life or good works. They add, also, that evil of life or evil works do not condemn those who are justified by faith alone, because they are in God and in grace. " — Doc. of Life, n. 2, 4. But it is important to remember that the nature or quality of the works by which we are to be judged, de- pends on the kind of motive which entered into them as their prompting cause, or which moved us to do them. If the motive was evil or purely selfish, the works them- 104 HEAVEN REVEALl selves were of the same nature, however I they may have been in their outward form. Accordingly Swe- denboi " But by the deeds and works according to which man is judged, are not meant such deeds and works as are m xhibited in the external form, but such also ire internally ; for every one knows that every dcL-d and work proceeds from man's will and thought ; for if it were otherwise, Ids deed would be mere motion, like that of an automaton or image. Wherefore a deed or work in itself considered, is nothing but an effect which derives its soul and life from the will and thought, that it is will and thought in effect, therefore will and thought in an external form. Hence it follows that such are the will and thought which produce a deed or work, such also is the deed or work. If the thought and will be good, the deeds and works are good ; but if the thought and will be evil, the deeds and works are evil, although outwardly they may appear alike." — II. II. n. 472. But our life's love cannot be speedily changed. We cannot quickly pass from hell to heaven, or from a su- premely selfish which is an infernal state, to the oppo- site or unselfish state which is heavenly. This great change, like all orderly divine processes, is slow and Ldual. According!}' Swcdenborg says : " Man, when he is born, as to hereditary evils 1 hell in the least form ; and also becomes a hell, so far as he takes from hereditary evils and superadds to them his own. Hence it is that the order of his life from na- tivity and from actual life, is opposite to the order of heaven; for from the proprium lie loves himself more than the Lord, and the world more than heaven ; when yet the life of heaven consists in loving the Lord above Til. all thii md the neighbor as himself Hence evident that the former life which is of hell, must be al- I; that is, evils and falsities must be loved, to the intent that new life, which is the life of heaven, maybe implanted. This , A in anywise be done h ; for every evil being inrooted with its fal- sities, has connection with all evils and their falsiti and such evils and falsities arc innumerable, and their connection is so manifold that it cannot be compi hended even by the angels, but only by the Lord. Hence it is evident, that the life of hell with man cannot ved suddenly, for if suddenly he would alto- ther expire; and neither can the life of heaven be im- planted suddenly, for if suddenly, he would also expire. There are thousands and thousands of arcana, of which scarcel\' one is known to man, whereby he is led of the Lord, when from the life of hell into the life of heaven. That this is so, has been given me to know from heaven ; and it has been likewise confirmed by several things which came to the apperception. Inasmuch as man knows scarcely anything concerning these arcana, there- fore many have fallen into errors concerning man's lib- eration from evils and falsities, or concerning the remis- sion of sins, by believing that the life of hell with man can in a moment be transcribed into the life of heaven with him through mercy ; when yet the whole act of regeneration is mercy, and no others are regenerated, but those who receive the mercy of the Lord by faith and life during their abode in the world." — A. C. n. 9336 ; see also n. 9334, 5398. Now is not this teaching amply sustained by the tes- timony of reason, experience and the Volume of revela- tion ? The upbuilding of the kingdom of heaven in the soul, is a truly divine work, yet one which cannot be performed without our voluntary cooperation. It should, IC6 Hi V REVEALED. therefore, bear some resemblance to the rest of the Cre- ator's works. And how does the Divine creative energy display it- self throughout the material universe? Why, in every formative process it proceeds gradually. Nothing comes forth full-formed and complete all at once — no, nor very suddenly. All things endowed with life — trees, plants, animals, men — commence from something minute, and advance by slow degrees to their mature state. And trees and animals that are destined to live longest, are always slowest of growth and latest in arriving at ma- turity. All orderly divine processes are gradual. Our globe itself — so science teaches — was many ages in be- coming fitted for the abode of man. The face of nature shorn of its verdure by November's frosts, is gradually renewed by Spring's warm sunshine. The tiny germ within the acorn is gradually developed into the sturdy oak. The infant advances by slow degrees to the full stature of manhood. Must not the new spiritual man, then, advance by a corresponding process to the full stature of angelhood? All analogy proves that a man's ruling love is never suddenly changed. And the same doctrine agrees with and is confirmed by universal experience. For who does not know from experience that the uprooting of avarice and selfishm from the natural heart, and implanting therein the loves of heaven, is no sudden work? Conviction of sin and conversion (which is simply turning about and facing in the opposite direction) may be sudden. Hut who ever heard of a man's ruling love (which means his entire character) being suddenly changed from evil to good? THE SURi 107 — or, of .1 person pa uickly from an infernal to 1 heavenly state, and remaining permanently in it ? Paul's 11 while on his way to Damascus, was sudden. Hut were all his evil le j suddenly subdued, and "the old man" or the natural proprium brought un comp' n to the Divine? So far from it, we funl him many years after his conversion, making this 1 but frank e >n : " I am carnal, sold under sin. . . . To will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good, I find not. For the good that I aid, I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do. ... I find then a law, that, when 1 would l\o good, evil is present with me;" and he concludes with the exclamation " O wretched man that I am ! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Rom. vii. 14-21.) Which shows that the apostle's state was yet many removes from that of heaven. id the Scripture confirms the teachings of analogy and experience. Our Saviour as to his humanity, is our ttern. And we read that "Me grew, and waxed ong in spirit;" that He u increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with' God and man " (Luke i. 80; ii. 52) — language which shows that the process of glori- fication, or the descent of the Divine Life into, and its union with, the human, was gradual. We are told also that 4 * the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard- seed . . . which indeed is the least of all seeds; but when it is grown it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof." (Matt. xiii. 32.) Again it is compared to seed which, when sown, springs up I OS HEA J EN RE VEALED. and unfolds gradually, " first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear." (Mark iv. 28.) Such passages plainly teach that the heavenly life is acquired not suddenly, but by slow degrees, just as a plant or tree unfolds and matures; and that one proceeds according to the laws of divine order as surely as the other. And the Lord takes care that the seed-germs of the heavenly kingdom shall be early and securely stored up in the in- teriors of every little child.* Only those, then, can go to heaven, who begin on earth (when of mature years) to develop and strengthen within themselves the life of heaven: Which is done through religious obedience to the laws of that life — by shunning all known evils as sins against God. No others, after they shall have left the material body, will have any desire to go there ; nor could they breathe its pure atmosphere, nor endure its light and warmth. They would be as much out of their element in heaven, as a fish is out of his when taken from the water. They would find the sphere of heaven so suffocating as to cause them unutterable anguish. Accordingly Sweden- borg says : "Unless heaven be within a person, nothing of the heaven without him flows-in and is received. Many spirits entertain the opinion that heaven may be given to every one from immediate mercy;- and because of * " It would be impossible for any one to live as a man without a germ of innocence, charity and mercy, or something of a similar nature thence derived. . . . This germ man receives from the Lord during infancy and childhood, as may be seen from the states of infants and children. What lie then receives is treasured within him, and is called in the \\'<>rd ■ tnnit or Remains % which are of the Lord alone with man, and furnish him with the capacity of becoming truly man on hi-> arrival at adult a| — A. ( '. n. 1050. Til. WAY TO HEA\ I V. their belief, they have been taken up into heaven. But when they came there, because their interior life was opposite to that of tin* angels, they grew blind as to their intellectual faculties till they became like idi< and were tortured as to their will faculties so that they behaved like madmen. In a word, they who go to heaven after living wicked lives, gasp there for breath, and writhe >Ut like fishes taken from the water into the air, and like animals in the ether of an air-pump after the air lias n exhausted. Hence it is evident that heaven is not without one, but within him." — II. II. n. 54. See also n. 400, ;iS, 525. L ok, now, at the practical tendency of this new doc- trine. Accept it as true, then farewell to all reliance on the efficacy of a death-bed repentance. Farewell to the delusive hope of ever reaching heaven through mere belief, or faith alone. The doctrine shows us that no amount of prayers, or tears, or penitent confessions, or pious words uttered on the bed of death or in the felon's cell, can avail to change the ruling love. It reveals the necessity, first, of feeling and acknowledging our utter jndence on the Lord; and second, of yielding a voluntary and implicit obedience to the laws of his king- dom. Thus its tendency is to make people more eager to learn and more careful to obey the revealed laws of the angelic life. Every noble and righteous purpose cherished, every unselfish and brotherly act performed, every self-denying effort put forth in the name of the Lord and in acknowledged dependence on Him for the needed wisdom and strength, is a step on the way to heaven ; — something done towards recreating the soul in the Divine likeness, or building it up to "the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. " 10 IIO HEAVEN / IX. LIGHT AND HEAT IN HEAVEN AM( >NG the first questions which people arc natu- rally inclined to ask about the heaven of angels, arc such as the following : Have they light and heat there, as we have here ? If so, what is their nature: and origin ? I )o they come from a sun, like the light and heat of this world ? If the answer be, Yes, then what is the nature of that sun, and how does it differ from our own ? Swe- denborg ought to be able to answer these questions, if his claim to have enjoyed long and open intercourse with the angels be well-founded. And he has answered them with all the fullness that we might expect. Let us see what his answers are, and then subject them to a careful examination, lie says: "The sun of this world does not appear in heaven, nor anythingwhich exists from this sun, because all that is natural. For nature commences from this sun, and whatsoever is produced by it is called natural. But the spiritual in which heaven is, is above nature, and entirely distinct from the natural; nor do they communicate with each other except by correspondences. " Hut although the sun of the world does not appear in heaven, nor anythingwhich exists from this sun, still there is a sun there ; and light and heat and all things which are in the world and a great many more, but not from a similar origin ; for the things which exist in heaven are spiritual, and those which exist in the world are natural. The sun of heaven is the Lord ; the light there is divine truth, and the heat is divine good, both of which proceed from the Lord as a sun. From that origin are all things which exist and appear in heaven." LI( ill ■ The Lord appears in heaven as a sun, because II the divine love from which all spiritual thin ist, as all natural things exist by means of the sun of this world. It is that love which shines as a sun. ... He appears differently according to each individual's reception of Him; in one way, the , to those who receive Him in the good ^\ love, and in another to those who receive Him in th 1 of faith. To those who receive Him in the good of love, 1 le app< s a sun, fiery and flam- ing according to reception. These are in his celestial kingdom. But to those who receive Him in the good faith, He appears as a moon, white and shining ac- cording to reception. These are in his spiritual king- dom."— H. II. n. 116-118. 11 The light in heaven is so great as to exceed by many degrees the mid-day light of the world. I have often seen it, even in the evening and night. At first I wondered when I heard the angels say that the light of the world is little more than shade in comparison with the light of heaven. But since I have seen it, I can testify that it is so. Its whiteness and brilliancy surpass all description. The things seen by me in heaven, were seen in that light ; thus more clearly and distinctly than things in the world. "The light of heaven is not natural like that of the world, but spiritual ; for it proceeds from the Lord as a sun, and that sun is divine love. That which proceeds from the Lord as a sun, is called in the heavens divine truth, although in its essence it is divine good united to divine truth. Hence the angels have light and heat; light from the divine truth, and heat from the divine good. From this consideration it is evident that the light and heat of heaven are not natural but spiritual from their origin." — Ibid. 126, '7. "The degrees of spiritual heat may be understood 112 //. V REVEALED. from those of light, for heat and light exist in equal de- Aa to the spiritual light in which the angels dwell, I have been permitted to see it with my own and among the angels of the higher heavens it is bright and yet so glowing as to surpass description . . . rwn by the radiance of the natural sun. In a word, it exceeds a thousand-fold the noonday light of the world."— D. L. W. n. 182. 11 The heat of heaven in its essence is love. It pro- ceeds from the Lord as a sun, and is the divine love in Him and from Him. Hence it is evident that the heat of heaven is spiritual as well as its light; for it is from the same origin. The heat of heaven, like its light, is everywhere various. That in the celestial kingdom dif- fers from that in the spiritual ; and it differs also in every iety. And not only does it differ in degree, but even in kind. It is more intense and pure in the Lord's ial kingdom, because the angels there are more re- ceptive of the divine good. It is less intense and pure in the Lord's spiritual kingdom, because the angels there are more receptive of divine truth. And it differs also in every society according to reception. "There is heat also in the hells, but it is unclean. The heat in heaven is what is meant by sacred and celestial fire, and the heat of hell is what is meant by profane and infernal fire; and by both is meant love. ( lestial fire means love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor, and every affection derived from these loves; and infernal fire means the love of self and the world, and every lust derived from these loves " — II. II. n. 133. 4. See alsoA.Cn. 1053,2196,2776,3636,4415. Scores of passages similar to the foregoing, might be quoted from Swedcnborg's writings. And he nowhere teaches anything at variance with this, though enjoying open intercourse with the angels, and daily writing of ;/ /■ v. i [3 what he heard and saw in heaven, for a period of nearly thii ars. What evidence can be adduced in con- nation of these statements ? is the next question; — for we should not accept the mere ipse dixit of any man on a subject of this nature, First, it cannot be denied that there is an air of reason- abl and probability about the statements, winch is utterly repugnant to the idea of delusion on the part of the author. There is also a directness and simplicity in the manner of the statements, which we all recognize as among the characteristics of a truthful revelation. And their reasonableness becomes more and more manifest, the closer they are examined, — another strong indica- tion of their truth. For consider: — Angels are human beings removed from the lower or primitive stage of existence, and advanced to a higher and more mature state. They are all in the human form. They possess the human faculties, but in a more perfected state than those of people on earth. They also have the human organs — eyes, ears, hands, feet, etc., — the same as men. And wherever they are mentioned or referred to in the Bible, they are spoken of as in the human form ; and in some places their faces, mouths, eyes, ears, and hands are particularly mentioned. Now eyes imply the existence of some sort of light as the medium of their exercise or use, just as ears imply the existence of some sort of an atmosphere. If there were no such thing as light, eyes would be useless and we should not have them ; for the Creator makes nothing without use as an end. He adds no useless appendage to any creature. And having eyes we could not see 10* II 114 HEAVEN REVEALED. without some suitable medium — some kind of light But our organs of sense arc material, and therefore adapted to this material world. With our bodily ej We see, and with our fleshly hands we handle, material things —and these alone. And the light and heat of this world, and the sun from which they emanate, being them- selves natural, are adapted to our natural or fleshly organs. But everything in the spiritual world is spiritual. The bodies of the angels are spiritual bodies; and we have P mi's testimony that " there is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." (i Cor. xv. 4.) And the organs of sense which the angels possess, must be suited to the spiritual things of their world, as our bodily organs are adapted to the material things of this world. The light and heat of heaven must therefore be spiritual, else they would not be suited to the nature of the angels, nor be in harmony or homogeneous with the things of their world. And we know what spiritual light is. It is that which illumines the understanding — the light of divine or spirit- ual truth. When this light dawns upon us, it brings day to our mental world. The light of divine truth shows US the path in which we ought to walk — the path that leads to heaven. And we know, too, what spiritual heat is. It is that which warms us internally and spiritually; that which sets the soul aglow ; that which we feel when the heart throbs with emotions of gratitude and love. Love is spiritual heat; and its effects in the moral or spiritual re. dm are such as correspond to the effects of the Min', heat in the material realm. It warms and 1 : •// A \ D Hi I ." IN HI \V1 115 quickens and vivifies. Hence it is common to hear p pie who abound in love towards others, called warm- hearted* And from what other source can spiritual lighl and heat proceed, than a spiritual sun? *\ni\ a spiritual sun must be a living sun. And what can a living sun he, hut the Lord Jehovah Himself? What but the very sun in whose bright beams of truth and love the angels con- tinually n -the sun of the spiritual world ? And can there be any reasonable doubt that this sun is the incarnate Word — the Divine Man who, when on earth, declared: 4k I am the light of the world ; " who is the Enlightener of all minds and the Quickener of all hearts; " in whom is life," and whose life "is the light of men " ? (John i. 4, 9.) The spiritual sun must be to the uni- verse of souls, what the natural sun is to the realm of matter. Consider again, that angels are human beings in an advanced stage ; — men and women raised from this primary and rudimental to a higher or more interior state of existence. And if advanced to a higher state, they should possess a keener insight and enjoy a wider rani^e of vision than we do. Thev ou^ht therefore to ^> 'SO dwell in light of superior brilliancy. And so we might reasonably expect that the sun of heaven would be im- mensely brighter than the sun of this world. We should expect it to surpass our sun in splendor by as many degrees as heaven is higher than earth, or as an- gels are superior to men. Accordingly Swedenborg says : "The light of heaven in which the angels dwell is, in Il6 HEAVEN REVEALED. respect to the light of this world, as the light of the sun at noonday to that of a candle, which becomes invisible and as nothing when the sun rises." — A. C. 1053. It cannot be denied, then, that the seer's disclosure on this subject, is altogether reasonable. Indeed we cannot conceive of an answer essentially different, that would at all satisfy the demands of reason. Then there have been in different ages and countries many pious and trustworthy persons, whose spiritual eyes have been occasionally opened, and whose re- corded experiences on such occasions agree entirely with Swedenborg's statements, and may be said therefore to furnish corroborative evidence of their truth. Cases like that, for example, recorded of the grandfather of Heinrich Jung Stilling in the hitter's Autobiography (p. 22, Harper's edition); and that of Rev. Win. Tenant of Freehold, New Jersey, who was apparently dead for several days, and after his resuscitation described what he saw while in that state; among other things 4< an in- effable glory" — a ''glory all unutterable!' (See Memoir of Rev. Wm. Tenant.) Dr. Passavent says : " Persons recovering from deep swoons and trances, frequently describe themselves as having been in this region of light — this light of the spirit, if I may so call it — this palace of light in which it dwells, which will hereafter be its proper light; for the physical or solar light which serves us while in the flesh, will be no longer needed." (Quoted in Mrs. Crowe's Night Side of Nature \ vol. ii., p. 163.) And Dr. II. Werner (Doctor of Philosophy, Stuttgard and Tubingen), in his Guardian Spirits, tells of a seeress with whom he was intimate, and who, in her LIGHT AND HEAT IN HEAVEN. 117 state o{ trance, often spoke of a bright Sun and of being in its light On one occasion she says: " I see the Sun, and these beings quite different from men — much more pure and noble — are not in the Sun, . . . but I see them in the neighborhood of the Sun. O, if it were so fair, so glorious on the earth below, as here where there are no human passions, it were then good to live there. This whole life above consists of love. Everything that is and is done here, proceeds from love. This principle makes all the happiness that reigns here above." (p. 30, '1, New York edition, 1S47.) Numerous facts like these are accessible, and from sources perfectly authentic. And while they harmonize with, and go to confirm the truth of, Swedcnborg's statements, they at the same time find in his revealings their only rational and philosophical explanation. And turning to the Bible we find still further confir- mation of the truth of his statements. We find there a record of facts which it is impossible rationally to ex- plain upon any other theory than that furnished by his pneumatology. Take, for example, the phenomenon recorded in Exodus (24th chapter), when Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu were called to " come up unto the Lord." It is there said that " the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai ; . . . and the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel." And this, too, although the Lord's glory was veiled by a cloud to the multitude who stood gazing at the foot of the mount. What must have been the appearance of that glory to Moses who went up into the mount and 1 1 8 HEAVEN REVEALED. the cloud ! No wonder that when he came down, "the skin of his face shone" as the record sa\ Then we read in the gospel by Matthew (17th chap- ter): "And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, James and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them ; and his face did shine as the sun, and his rai- ment was white as the light. And behold there ap- peared unto them Moses and Elias talking with Him. . . . And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man until the Son of Man be risen again from the dead." This is the way Jesus appeared to the disciples when their spir- itual eyes were opened: "his face did shine as the sun." That it was with their spiritual and not with their natural eyes that the disciples saw Jesus on that occasion, is evident; 1st, from the fact that they saw Moses and Elias at the same time; and these persons, being spirits and long time dwellers in the spiritual world, could not be seen by any eyes but those of the spirit; and 2d, from the Lord's own words, " Tell the vision to no man," etc. A vision is a supernatural ap- pearance — something seen with the spiritual and not with the natural eyes. Again, the seer of Patmos tells us that, "being in the spirit on the Lord's day," he heard behind him a great voice, " saying : I am Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last." And turning to see whence the voice came, he says : " I saw seven golden candlesticks ; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man . . . and his countenance was as tlic sun shineth T AND III- A l IX HEAVl lig in his strength." (Rev, i. 10, 1-3, [6 To be "in the spirit," is to be in an exalted spiritual state- in a si to sec as those do who arc in the spiritual world, or who have their spiritual eyes opened. Then there is the testimony of Paul in his memorable speech before king Agrippa (and repeated elsewhere), which perfectly agrees with, and finds a rational explan- ation in, Swedenborg's disclosures. " Whereupon," says the apostle, " as 1 was going to Damascus, with author- ity and commission from the chief priests, at mid-day, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them that journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and say- ing in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? . . . And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And ] le said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest." (Acts xxvi. 12, 13.) Observe that the apostle beheld this dazzling brightness at mid-day, and says that it exceeded the brightness of the sun. The light was overpowering in its splendor It was more than he and his fellow trav- ellers could endure ; and they fell prostrate on the earth. Now what was the nature of that light? and to what realm did it belong, the natural or the spiritual ? Cer- tainly not to the natural ; for what light in the realm of nature is so overpowering as that was ? What natural light is above that of the sun at noonday? And why not seen by all the people in that region round about, if it were merely natural light ? No : The light which Paul and his companions beheld on that occasion, was 1 20 in-, a i EN re J '/■:. 1 1. ED. from the Sun of the spiritual world — their spiritual sight rig suddenly and providentially opened to enable them to see it. And if the light of that Sun is, as Swe- denborg says, u a thousand times greater than that of the sun of this world," no wonder that they all fell to the earth, and that Paul himself " could not see for the glory of that light' 1 (Acts xxii. 11 >, and remained "three days without sight." (ix. 9.) Who could stand before such dazzling brightness, if it burst suddenly upon him? Observe further, that, within that overwhelming blaze was a person — the Lord Jesus Christ himself — from whom came the words in Hebrew, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? " Observe, also, that this great light burst upon them suddenly y and as suddenly van- ished ; and the apostle himself called it "a light from heaven." And thus we find that remarkable experience of Paul, producing what is commonly called his miraculous con- version, to be in perfect agreement with Swedenborg's disclosures ; and while furnishing additional confirmation of their truth, receiving from them at the same time an easy and philosophical explanation. And can you find in any of the old theologies — can you find anywhere else but in Swedenborg's pneumatology, a rationed explana- tion of that memorable occurrence? And that it is the Lord Jesus Christ or Jehovah God, who is the Sun of the spiritual world, is plain from many passages of Scripture. Thus the inspired Psalmist says: "Jehovah God is a sun and shield." "Jehovah cover- eth Himself with light as with a garment." And Isaiah says: "Jehovah shall be unto thee an everlasting light.'* LIGHT AND HEAT FN HEAV1 I 21 And the apostle John: "God is light/ 1 and "God love" — for love is spiritual heat whence comes spiritual light. And of that city which the seer of Patmos be- held in vision "coming down from God out of heaven," it is said "the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." And "there shall be no night there; . . . for the Lord God giveth them fight." And the Lord when on earth proclaimed Himself "the light of the world." And John calls Him "the Word" which was "in the beginning with God, and is God" — > 44 the true light which lighteth every man." lie is the enlightener of all souls, the Sun of the moral universe. Thus do reason, Scripture, the recorded experiences of gifted seers and of devout men in all ages, unite in attestation of the truth of Swedenborg's revelation con- cerning the Sun of the spiritual world, and the nature of the light and heat thence proceeding. And there is no conflict in the testimony rendered, but perfect agree- ment among all these witnesses. And the witnesses, we observe, are quite independent of each other. The conclusion is, therefore, inevitable. For what the Bible declares, and reason approves, and the experience of prophets and seers in -all ages confirms, must be true beyond question. Nor is the evidence exhausted yet. As we prosecute our inquiry into the laws and phenomena of the spiritual world, we shall find additional proof accumulating at every step. We shall find this central fact of the exist- ence of a spiritual Sun, connecting itself as intimately with the other facts and phenomena of the spiritual world, as the fact of the natural sun's existence connects 1 1 122 HEAVEN .!/./■/>. itself with the other farts and phenomena of our ter- trial world, with the motion of the planets, the existence and color of the clouds, the verdure of the fields, the aspects of the landscape, the countless tints of the violet and the rose. These all presuppose and depend wholly upon the sun, and could not exist with- out it. X. PRACTICAL TENDENCY OF THIS DISCLOSURE. C A RANT that what Swedenborg tells us about the X Sun in the angelic heavens be true, what then? Is the disclosure one of any practical value? Is it cal- culated to improve the character of those who accept it, or to quicken their endeavors after righteousness? For if it can be shown that the legitimate tendency of any revealed fact or law is good and wholesome, that it furnishes food or stimulus to the better part of our nature, and tends to exalt and ennoble the character of the be- liever, that is the strongest possible evidence of its truth. But if, on the other hand, its obvious tendency is per- nicious — if it is calculated to exert a debasing influence on the character, you can have no stronger evidence that the alleged revelation is false. " For even' tree is known by his own fruit; for of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes." (Luke vi. 44.1 No more can the fruits of righteousness be the itimate product of false teaching or a spurious revo Tl OF THIS DISCI OSUR* I \ J lation. By its obvious practical tendency, you may know whether the alleged revelation be true or false. Let us apply this test to Swedenborg's disclosures concern the spiritual Sun. It was said in the last chapter, and shown by extracts from the seer's writings, that the spiritual Sun does not appear the same to all the angels. Its appearance is al- ways in correspondence with the state of the beholder. To those o{ the highest heaven, who receive the light of divine wisdom and the warmth of divine love in larg- measure, the Lord appears most glorious even to their external vision, lie appears as a sun warm and bright according to their internal reception of his light and life. To those of a lower heaven who receive his love and wisdom in an inferior degree, He appears less glorious — comparatively as a moon. While to those not in heaven, whose lives are not in harmony with its laws, and in whose hearts is none of God's unselfish love, but the supreme love of self instead, the sun of heaven does not appear at all. Their state is, therefore, one of com- parative cold, darkness and night. Hence the meaning of that " outer darkness " into which the wicked are said to be cast; for they have shut the door of their souls against the Sun of righteousness, and therefore the my- riads of interesting and beautiful things which that Sun reveals to the angels, are invisible to them. Now the different angelic heavens are. neither more nor less than different states of human life — all good, but some superior to others. And so, too, the different kinds and degrees of evil in the wicked, are what neces- sitate the different hells. The higher states of angelic 124 HEAVEN REVEALED. life, arc such as arc in accord with the higher laws of the soul, or with the truths of the spiritual and celestial 3 of the Word And every man, when he passes into the spiritual world, takes his own character with him. lie goes there precisely the same individual that he was inter- nally while living in the flesh. His inner and spiritual life as to all its predominant characteristics, remains. And the process of forming this inner life, is a process of clarifying or obscuring the spiritual vision — of im- proving or impairing the soul's eyesight. It is a proc- ess by which we become qualified to enjoy the blessed light and warmth of the Sun of heaven, or incapacitated for beholding his face and rejoicing in his kindling beams. Note what this process is, or the manner of its pro- cedure. As to our spirits we are always in the spiritual world, though at present unconscious of the fact. And every law of the spirit's life — every ray of spiritual truth that we receive — is a beam from the spiritual Sun. And as we obey the truth we have learned, we come to ex- perience a positive delight in it. The vital element in truth is the Lord's love; and it is this which causes the delight. By religious obedience to the truth, our hearts become warmed and expanded and more and more re- ceptive of this vital element; the range of our spiritual vision is extended, and we become receptive of more and still higher truth. With every act of self-denial prompted by religious principle, there comes as a rich reward an increased desire for more and higher truth, and an increased capacity for receiving it. And so by TENDENCY OF THIS DISCLOSURE. 125 religiously living the truth, we come more and more into the light and love and joy of it. As saith the Lord: u He that doeth truth cometh to the light." In this and in no other way can our souls be prepared for the light by which the angels sec. If we seek and love and reverently follow the light of heavenly truth while here on earth, we shall be prepared to rejoice in the glad beams of heaven's Sun when we enter the other world. But if, on the contrary, we care nothing about it, take no delight in it, turn our thoughts away from it, and walk not according to it, we shall gradually incapacitate ourselves for receiving it. Every infringe- ment of known spiritual laws, is an injury to the soul's eyesight. And if disobedience or neglect be persisted in, we shall be unable to bear the light of the spiritual Sun in the great Hereafter. We shall hate and flee from it, and choose instead the " outer darkness/' as owls and bats shun the light of day, and prefer instead the shades of night. Agreeable to the Lord's own words: "He that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." And what darkness is so dreadful as that which results from the loss of the moral or spiritual eyesight ! — the loss of all desire for the true light, and even of the capacity to re- ceive or apprehend it! "If, therefore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness ! " saith the Lord. Thus the practical tendency of this disclosure is seen to be good and wholesome. For it teaches that our spiritual vision while we are yet in the flesh, is becom- ing dimmed or clarified according to our degree of af- I 26 Hi:. 1 1 r EN RE ! '/:,! L ED. fection for the truth and our fidelity in obeying its be- hests. And it warns us not to forget or transgress the Divine commands, under penalty of dimming or de- stroying our spirit's eyesight, and thus preparing our- selves for the u outer darkness." Its tendency therefore is, to make us watchful against the indulgence of any known evil, and to stimulate our desire to learn and practice the laws of the heavenly life; for it is in this way only that we can become qualified to behold and rejoice in the beams of heaven's bright Sun. Then see how this disclosure concerning the nature of heavenly light and heat, helps us in the interpretation of the Bible ; for there is, as we should expect, an inti- mate connection between the spiritual sense of the Word as revealed through Swedenborg,and his disclosures con- cerning the spiritual world. In its natural or literal sense the Bible appears to treat much of natural things ; — of the earth and clouds, winds and waters; of rocks, trees and mountains — sun, moon and stars. And it was once regarded as the very highest authority in settling questions of natural science. But latterly a great change in this respect has come over the mind of Christendom. Many of the beliefs prevalent in the days of Galileo, have been discarded by every religious sect. Many of the deepest thinkers of our day have reached the conclusion that the Bible was never meant to teach us about natural but only about spiritual things; that, rightly understood, it will be found to treat exclusively of God, the soul and things belonging to the soul's appropriate realm ; that it is, and was meant to be, a revelation not of natural but of spir- HIS DISCI OSURE. \2J itual truth — truth suited to the wants of our higher na- ture, and is therefore to be spiritually interpreted. And when it speaks in the letter of things belonging to the natural realm, in its higher and true sense it speaks of the corresponding things within or above nature — thin in the realm of spirit. For example : When the Bible speaks of man, it means the inner and real man — not the material and perishable, but the spiritual and immortal part. When it speaks of the resurrection, it means the resurrection not of the material body, but of the spiritual — the real individual temporarily enshrined in matter. When it speaks of a second birth, it refers not to a natural or carnal birth, but to the birth of the soul into the king- dom of heaven. When it speaks of heaven and hell, it means no natural localities such as are referred to by these terms taken in their natural sense, but certain states of the soul — one, exalted and blissful, the other, degraded and miserable. When it speaks of the com- ing of the Lord, it means no outward coming cogniza- ble by the eye of sense, but an inward and spiritual coming — a coming of his own truth and love to the un- derstandings and hearts of men. When it speaks of light and heat, it means truth and love which are spirit- ual light and heat to which the natural correspond. If, then, it be true, as the deepest thinkers are every- where beginning to see and acknowledge, that the Bible was not given to teach us natural but spiritual truth, it is clear enough that it must be spiritually interpreted. Accordingly when it speaks of the sun and of light, we are to understand that, in its higher and true sense, the 1 28 HEA VEN REVEALED. spiritual Sun and spiritual light arc what is meant. Take a few texts for illustration. Can any one doubt that spiritual light, or divine truth which illumines the under- standing, is what is meant in passages like the follow- ing ? "Jesus said, I am the light of the world ; he that fol- lowcth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." " Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you." " While ye have the light believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light." " I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth in me should not abide in darkness." "Light is come into the world, but men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil." " He [the incarnate Word] was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." " God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." Yes: The light of divine truth which is spiritual, is what enlightens the souls of men while they tabernacle in the flesh. But it cannot enlighten those who, because of their evil loves and their unwillingness to see and abandon them, shut their eyes against it. " For every one that doeth evil, hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." But spiritual light must emanate from a spiritual lumi- nary, as surely as natural light must come from some natural luminary. And what can that luminary be but the Lord Himself who is the enlightener of all minds, and who, we are assured by Swedcnborg, appears before TENDENCY OF THIS DISCLOSUl the eyes of the angels in greater or less brilliancy ac- cording to their states of receptivity of his wisdom and love — his appearance being in exact correspondence with the states of the beholders. To the highest angels whose love is purest and most ardent, I te appears as a sun of indescribable brilliancy ; and to those in lower slates, or whose love is less intense, He appears comparatively as a moon. Therefore when the Bible speaks of the sun and moon, we are to think of something above the nat- ural luminaries so named — of the spiritual sun and moon to which the natural correspond. This will help us to understand the meaning of a pas- sage of Scripture which, being literally interpreted, has been the occasion of considerable excitement and alarm at different periods of the church. We refer to that in Matthew (ch. xxiv. — repeated in Mark xiii. and Luke xxi.), where, after foretelling the fearful trials — the wars, famines, pestilences, etc. (all spiritual, according to the true interpretation), which the church would be called to encounter before the Lord's second appearing, it is added, as if this were the last crowning event in the grand drama : " Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven. . . . And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven." Christians have generally given to this prophetic an- nouncement a sensuous interpretation. But here as everywhere else in his Word, the Lord refers to spiritual things. He is speaking not of the natural sun, moon, and stars, but of the spiritual things to which these I 130 WEN RE VEAL I natural luminaries correspond. And since we are, as to our spirits, now and always in the spiritual world, there- fore we are ever under the influence of the spiritual Sun. We recen m it all our spiritual light and warmth. But its light dors not appear to our outward sense as light (as it docs to the eyes of angels), but manifests itself by a certain internal illumination — that kind of enlightenment which spiritual truth, when received, fur- nishes to the understanding. Nor is its heat sensibly perceived by us as heat, but manifests itself by a certain warmth (^f feeling, or a kindling in the heart of the emotion of love — love of whatever is just, sincere, good and true. Thus do the beams of the spiritual Sun reach and affect the spirits of people yet in the flesh. But when may that Sun be said to be darkened? The natural sun always shines with undiminished splendor. Yet he undergoes apparent changes. Some- times he is wholly or partially eclipsed. Sometimes he is obscured by the vapor and smoke in the earth's atmos- phere, lie sinks beneath the horizon, and his face is hidden from our view. And in familiar language all Mich changes are predicated of the sun itself. When suffering an eclipse, we say the sun is darkened. Seen through mist, dust, or smoke, we say the sun is pale, dim, or red. When his face appears in the east, we say he is rising ; and when, again, he approaches the western horizon, we say he Ing s i f R /■:. of Man coming in the clouds, with power and great glory." And mark the signs of this Second Coming — the con- sequences of this newly risen Sun. Mark how its pierc- ing beams arc dispelling the old darkness ! — how they have already pervaded with their light and life nearly every department of human thought! Under their quickening influence the human intellect has every- where burst its old swathing-bands, and leaped forth with unprecedented vigor. And on the natural plane what a magnificent harvest already begins to wave! Science, literature, philosophy, art, industry, politics, morals and religion have all begun to feel the influence of the Second Coming. . Old things are everywhere passing away, and all things are being made new. All the forms of human thought prevalent a century ago, are changed or changing. Old religious dogmas, old systems of philosophy, old forms of government, old methods of education, old theories of medicine, old in- dustrial processes, old ideas on all subjects, are being continually summoned to judgment. And one by one they are beginning to rqtire before the waxing light of truth, as creatures of the night retire before the opening day. In the general enlightenment and progress of mankind during the last hundred years, on the natural plane of thought and action, do we not witness some- thing like a fulfillment of the prophecy ? " For as the lightning comcth out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be." We thus see that the great Swede's disclosure con- 12 HEAVEN REVEALED. cerning light and heat in heaven, and their origin, while perfectly reasonable in itself, accords well with the teach- ings of Scripture, is most beneficent in its practical ten- dency, and helps us to a truer and more rational inter- pretation of some portions of the written Word. Can- did and thoughtful minds will not reject the concurrent testimony of all these witnesses. XI. ENVIRONMENT IX HEAVEN, A XI) WHAT DETER- MINES IT HAVH the angels an outward or phenomenal world as people on earth have? If so, what is its gen- eral character or aspect, and what determines it? Since they possess the human organs, eyes to see and hands to handle things, we should expect there would be ob- jects to be seen and handled. We cannot conceive of their existing as human beings without an earth to stand and walk upon ; nor can we conceive of their being in a blissful state with no kind of objective world, and compelled to gaze forever on mere emptiness. But what answer does Swcdenborg give to the above ques- tions ? Briefly this : That the angels live upon a substantial earth (not material), and are surrounded by innumerable objects that are far more beautiful and perfect than any that ex- ist on earth — but all spiritual. And their senses being i IN HEAVl far more acute than ours, and the light in which th dwell far more brilliant, th in their world with r distil i than w< : in our-. And the law which determines the t of their outward world, is the same as that according to which the Sacred Scripture is written the same law that al ways governs in the descent of the Divine love and u dom to ultimates the law of correspondence between the int< rnal and external, ov between cause and effect Spirit tends forever to clothe itself in correspondential forms. It cannot become clothed in any other. God cannot speak or reveal Himself to finite beings, except according to correspondence. lie cannot create, and SO exhibit his love and wisdom to the senses of men, except according to the same law. And the objects which appear in heaven, exist there by virtue of an in- flux from the Divine into the minds of the angels, and through them into their outward or phenomenal world. The character of their outer is therefore determined by that of their inner world. The former is the visible representation of the latter. The things which greet their senses are the creations, and therefore the corre- spondential forms, of their own affections and thoughts. Thus their outward world corresponds in all respects to the world within them. Every active principle in their minds is pictorially represented to the outward sense, and under a form perfectly correspondent. The objects round about them, therefore, are so many mirrors, as it were, reflecting with mathematical precision the world of thought, affection and purpose within them. But we will give Swedenborg's report on this subject in his own I 36 HEAVEN REVEALED. language. The following extracts contain the substance of it: 11 The nature of the objects which appear to the angels in heaven cannot be described in few words. For the most part they are like the things on earth, but in form more perfect and in number more abundant. That such things exist in heaven, is evident from those seen by the prophets [as by Ezekiel, Chap, xl.-xlviii.; by Daniel, Chap, vii.-xii. ; by John, Rev., from first to last chapter]. They saw such things when they were in the spirit and heaven was opened to them ; and heaven is said to be opened when the interior sight which is that of a man's spirit, is opened. For the things in heaven cannot be seen with the bodily eyes, but with the eyes of the spirit." — II. II. n. 171. M Whenever it has been granted me to be in company with angels, the things of heaven have appeared to me exactly like those in the world, — so perceptibly indeed, that I knew not but that I was in the world, and in the palace of a king there. . . . Since all things which cor- respond to the interiors [of the angels] also represent them, therefore they are called representatives. And since they vary according to the state of the interiors with the angels, therefore the) 7 are called appearances; although the objects which appear before their eyes, and which are perceived by their senses, appear and arc per- ceived as much to the life as those on earth appear to man; nay, much more clearly, distinctly and perceptibly. The appearances thence existing in the heavens are called teal appearances, because they really exist. 41 To illustrate the nature and quality of the objects which appear to the angels according to correspondences, I will here adduce a single instance. To those who are in intelligence there appear gardens and paradises full of trees and flowers of every kind. The trees are planted in the most beautiful order, and so interwoven as to form EA t \J arbors with entrances of verdant fret-work, and walks around them, — all of such beauty as no lang i aw describe. . . . There are also species of trees and flow- ers there, such as were never se< n and could not exist in the world. On the trees also are fruits according to the ^ood oi love in which the intelligent are principled. Such things are seen by them, because a garden and paradise and also fruit trees and flowers correspond to intelligence and wisdom. "The paradisiacal scenery of heaven is stupendous. There are paradisiacal gardens presented to view, of an immense extent, consisting of all sorts of trees, of a iut\' and pleasantness exceeding every idea of human thought, which yet appear in so living a manner before their external sight, that they not only see them in the gross, but also perceive every single object much more vividly than the bodily sight does when exercised on similar objects here on earth." — A. C. n. 1622. " Representatives are presented in the other life accord- ing to states of the interiors with spirits, for they are corre- spondences. Around spirits who are in truths from good, appear the most beautiful representatives, namely, houses and palaces glittering with gold and precious stones, also gardens and paradises of ineffable beauty ; all these from correspondence. But around those who are in truths not from good, there appear nothing but craggy places, rocks, and bogs, and sometimes shrubberies, but un- pleasant and barren ; these also are from correspond- ence. But around those who are in falsities from evil, there appear fens, privies and other offensive objects : the reason of which is, that all representatives in the other life are external things figured according to the states of the interiors ; for thus the spiritual world pre- sents itself visible there." — Ibid. n. 10,194. "The visible objects which are in heaven correspond 12* I38 HEAVEN REVEALED, to the interiors of the angels, or to those things which belong to their Faith and love, and thence to their intel- ligence and wisdom." Some " live in elevated places which appear like mountains, . . . and in a vernal atmos- phere. There are presented before them, as it were, fields, harvests and vineyards. Everything in their houses glistens as if made of precious stones; . . others dwell in gardens where appear beds of flowers and grass- plats beautifully arranged, and rows of trees round about, together with porticos and walks. The trees and Bow- ers are varied every day. The view of the whole in genera] presents delights to their minds, and the varieties in particular continually renew them. And because these objects correspond to things divine, and those who be- hold them are in the knowledge of correspondences, they are perpetually replenished with new knowledges whereby their spiritual rational faculty is perfected." — II. II. n. 489. "Substances in the spiritual world appear as if they were material, but still they are not. And since they are not material, therefore they are not constant, being correspondences of the affections of the angels, and permanent with their affections, and disappearing with them."— D.W., § VIII. See also A. K. n. 650/ 121 1, '12, T8, '26. Such is the uniform teaching of Swedenborg concern- ing the objective world in heaven, and its determining cause. And can we conceive of anything more reason- able ? It satisfies the best instincts and deepest longings of our nature — yes, and the intuitions of our highest reason also. For what is more reasonable than that the outer world of those in the realms of bliss, should be in complete correspondence with their inner world ? — a true 1 I - ntation of their noble and beautiful souls? The flowers of love th; ropening in their hearts, the fruits of charity th x busy in bri forth, the n and living things of intelligence which are istantly sprin within them— why should not tin forth ami embody themselves or appear under forms of beauty and loveliness? Why should not the fragrance, verdure and bloom of the out ward ang :lic world, he in perfect correspondence with the fragrance, beauty and bloom of angelic minds? .Almost every one has an instinctive perception that there exists an intimate relation between the beautiful and the good — a relation so intimate that the former is the divinely ordained representative of the latter. We all feel an instinctive repugnance to connecting innocence and virtue with dismal scenes or unsightly objects, for we recognize their native disagreement, or unsuitableness to each other ; while inward evil and outward ugliness m naturally to belong together. Thus Milton, in portraying the beautiful scenery round about Adam and Eve in the daws of their innocence, has but uttered the universal sentiment of mankind ; and his utterance, there- fore, meets with a ready response from the universal human heart. Every one feels that a place less beauti- ful than that sweet Garden which the great poet has so finely pictured, would not have agreed with the innocence and purity of the couple he describes. So universal is the perception that the good and the beautiful belong together, and that the Creator designed the one to be the visible image of the other. Considering the purity and innocence of the denizens of heaven, what, then, 140 HE A VEX REVEALED. might we reason ibly expect would be the character of their surroundings ? Then the light in which the angels dwell, and which is said to be a thousand-fold brighter than that of our sun, is another consideration in favor of the truth of Swedenborg's disclosures on this subject. For if they are in a state to bear a thousand-fold brighter light than people on earth enjoy, then the objects they behold around them ought to be a thousand times more numer- ous and beautiful than are seen here on earth. Besides, we know that the most exalted and enlightened minds always see with other eyes than those of the ignorant and depraved. The former, on account of their superior purity and enlightenment, behold a world of beauty which is quite hidden from the latter. All the ways and works of God are surpassingly beautiful ; but light and the right kind of eyes are needed to enable the beholder to dis- cern their beaut)'. By virtue, therefore, of their superior light and better eyesight, the angels ought to see round about them precisely such a beautiful world as Swcden- borg has described. And the Bible adds its testimony also to that of reason, experience, and the best instincts of our nature. Read the description of the Garden in which man is said to have been placed at the time of his creation, and where " the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleas- ant to the sight and good for food." For although that Garden and all its beautiful belongings arc not to be literally interpreted — although they are to be taken as the representatives of the internal states of the most ancient people in the days of their innocence and in- EA VIRO • T IN HE ir. i.ji rity — the account our purpose none the 1 for all that For the beautiful surroundings of tin- are but the outward representatives of their internal states — their affections ami thoughts -and are in perfect cor- pondence with them. And because the Scripture is composed according to the same great law that determines the aspect of the ob- jective world in the Hereafter, therefore the Lord's spir- itual kin-clem — the regenerate human soul, viewed singly or collectively — is described in the Bible by the various precious metals, innocent animals, and beautiful objects in nature; as by gold and silver; by sheep, lambs and doves ; by mountains and hills and well-watered gardens; by vineyards and oliveyards, cedar-trees and the trees of lign-aloes; by a good land, "a land of water-brooks, and fountains that spring out of valleys and hills" ; "a land of vines and fig-trees and pomegranates. " These and other like things are often mentioned in the Word where the Lord's kingdom — the regenerate human heart — is treated of. And we cannot suppose such things were selected without a sufficient reason. They are a part of God's own Word ; and when the Divine speaks or acts, it is ever according to the highest reason and perfect divine order. And the reason why such things are mentioned in the Word when the states of the re- generate are treated of, is, that they are the correspond- ential forms of those heavenly principles which the Lord establishes in the hearts of all whom He creates anew in his own image and likeness. And these prin- ciples, in becoming embodied under the various beauti- ful forms which appear in heaven, are only assuming 142 HEAVEN REVEALED. their own appropriate vestments, — the very forms which the Creator Himself has ordained for them. Let us now look at the law which, according to Swe- denborg, determines the whole character or aspect of the objective world in the 1 (ereafter. If it is not susceptible of a complete demonstration, we hope at least to furnish strong presumptive evidence of its truth. This law, as already stated, is that of correspondence, which means a relation similar to that existing between the soul and the body. It is in the nature of every spir- itual principle to go forth and embody itself under some outward form. And the form must correspond to the living principle that enters into, creates and sustains it. We see this tendency of the human spirit constantly manifested here on earth ; for even here the affections of every man are forever seeking embodiment, and they first create for themselves certain correspondential forms in the thought of the understanding. Thus their forms exist mentally, or in the world within man, before they attain a visible and tangible existence in the world with- out him. They are visible to the mental before they are seen by the bodily eye. This is true of everything that man creates — temples, houses, gardens, machinery, pic- tures, statuary, furniture, clothing, and the like. These things are the offspring of some desire or love with which they correspond as body with soul; and they all existed as objects of thought in man's spiritual world (his mind), before the)' existed as objects of sight in the natural world. There is nothing made by the hand of man which was not, in all its parts, visible to the eye of the mind before it was visible to the eye of sense; and nothing T IN HEAVE v. [43 which does not correspond to the love that gave it birth, ct corresponds to cause, or body to soul. Thus all the things in this natural world which arc products of human ingenuity, arc correspondences of the affec- tions and thoughts of nun. They are visible represen- tative forms of certain invisible mental states which they body forth and to which they correspond. And the changes which are continually taking place in th.it por- tion of the outward world which is subject to man's con- trol, keep pace with men's internal or mental changes to which they correspond, and without which no outward changes could occur. Every individual on earth strives to create around him- self (and succeeds if he has the means and opportunity) an outward or objective world which is in exact corre- spondence with his inner or mental world — that is, so far as relates to the natural degree of Ids mind. He impresses himself, as to this degree, on whatever he makes or causes to be made. His own mind, his coarseness or his cul- ture, his refined taste or the absence of it, is visibly stamped on all around him, — on the house he builds, the furniture he orders, the pictures he buys, the trees he plants, and the flowers he cultivates. If his means and opportunity are ample, all his surroundings will, after a while, be a certain representative image of himself; they will be in exact correspondence with his external or natural mind, and therefore a true expression of the natural affections and thoughts in which they originated. So true is this, and so well understood generally, that almost any careful observer can tell at a glance, by his 1^4 HEAVEN REVEALED, visible surroundings, the man of culture and refinement from one of low breeding and depraved tastes. And as with individuals, so with communities or men in larger form. Every community, so far as its means will permit, creates an outer in correspondence with its inner world — that is, with its own prevailing mental character. Let a man travel through South Africa or Patagonia, and then visit the towns and villages of New England or Old England, and although he might not converse with one of the inhabitants, but only look at their environment, he would see the difference in the mental condition of the people of those countries as plainly as if their affections and thoughts were all writ- ten in a book. But it is to be observed that the world which people create round about them here, being external and natural, is in correspondence not with their internal and spiritual, but with their external and natural thoughts and affec- tions. And if there exists this correspondence between the natural mind and the world which this mind creates round about itself in the realm of nature — if we see every- where a strong tendency in natural affections and thoughts to go forth and embody themselves under corresponding natural forms — then it is reasonable to conclude that this law of correspondence must be the very law that de- termines the character or aspect of the objective world in heaven. What other conceivable law is there, to which the rationed mind so readily yields assent? Furthermore, even- one knows how much the outward aspect of all things on earth depends on the mental state of the beholder. The outer is ever taking on the com- /• M HEAV1 x. 145 plexion of the inner world, even here. There are times when a dismal pall seems spread over all creation ; when all around us seems like a desert; when the sweet flowers are undelightful, and the laughter of children has no music to our ears, and the faces of dearest friends no beaut\' to our eyes ; — tunes when the loveliest scenes in nature— the brightest sunshine and the verdant earth — have for us no cheerful smile, but rather an indignant frown. And are not these the times when the heart is cold and desolate and sad? when darkness and gloom brood over our inner world? But when the sunshine returns to the soul, when the heart glows with affection, and hope is bright and buoyant, and the world within us becomes lighted up with a sweet and serene joy, how changed is the aspect of the world without ! Nature no longer mourns or frowns, but greets us everywhere with benignant smiles. The very air seems balmy, as if laden with the perfume of flowers. The faces of friends beam with unwonted lustre. There is music in the rain's dull drizzle, and in the wind's low sigh. The aspect of the whole outward world is changed, and that which seemed so sombre and frowning but a little while ago, is now radiant with beauty and with smiles. Such is the controling, power which our inner or sub- jective exerts over our outer or objective world, even here on earth. Such the manifest tendency of the soul to stamp its own moods or complexion on all its sur- roundings ; — to color and shape the outward in complete correspondence with itself. Men of the deepest insight have ever seen and acknowledged this law. It is well expressed by one of our own poets, who sings : 13 K 146 //. j i.n. "It fate hape the outward to its own estate. If right Itself, then all around is well; If wrong, it makes of all without a hell. Turn where thou wilt, thyself in all things see I; flecte I back. — Who has no inward beauty, none perceh Though all around is beautiful. — Soul ! fearful is thy power, which thus transforms All things into thy likem If such be the power of the soul here on earth, to "transform all things into its likeness/ 1 what should re- sult when it is released from its material clog and earthly limitations, and brought consciously into a world, the substances of which being altogether spiritual, are plastic to it^ every breath? What but the very thing declared in the passages cited near the commencement of this chapter? We submit that the only rational conclusion to be drawn from the brief argument we have here pre- sented, is, that there is just such an outward or objective world in heaven as Swedcnborg has described, the char- acter or aspect of which is determined by the great and universal law that he has revealed — the law according to which the Sacred Scripture is written, and creation has pro 1 from the beginning, and spirit in all worlds forever seeks to embody itself — the law of correspond- ent \w\ let it be added in conclusion (and this is further evidence of its truth) that the doctrine is not purely speculate might at first be supposed, but one of i. J; great practical value. It offers us a heaven thai is nol .1 realm oi unsubstantial shadows, but one of substantial It shows us myriads of human beings, once denizens of earth, n Ivanced to a more perfect with faculties improved, and all the senses become far more acute, and an external world of indescribable beauty. And by revealing the underlying and determin- ing cause of its wondrous beauty — the pure and unselfish loves in the hearts of the angels — it acquaints us with this momentous fact: that our objective world in the I [ereafter will be a complete representative of our inner selves, in exact correspondence with our own characters or ruling loves ; beautiful beyond conception if these are noble and unselfish, but dreary and dismal if they are mean and selfish. It shows us that, since we take our characters with us into the other world and can take nothing else, therefore every one will take with him his own heaven or — his own hell ; for both these kingdoms are within men's souls; and the heaven or the hell that will be visible round about us in the Hereafter, will be the correspondential image of thatwhich has been formed within us here. Thus the doctrine settles forever — and upon a basis as substantial as the soul itself— the question in regard to our entrance into heaven, showing the utter impossi- bility of admission from immediate mercy. It teaches with clearness and impressiveness the solemn truth, that each one is making while here on earth, his garden or his wilderness, his paradise or his desert, for the ages to come ; — is building for himself a beautiful palace or a gloomy prison-house that is to endure forever. What I48 HEAVEN REVEALED. teaching can be more solemn than this? What more practical, or more potent in benign influence when clear- ly Understood and cordially accepted? XII. SOCIETIES IN HEAVEN. ARE the angels endowed w r ith social affections kin- dred to those of men? and have they an oppor- tunity to exercise them ? Do they all dwell in one society, or are there many societies? And if arranged into societies, what is the law that governs in the ar- rangement? What answer does Swedcnborcr give to these inquiries? — for he must have known how the case is, if his claim to open intercourse with the heavenly world be well founded. But we will first consider the subject in the light of reason. It was shown in the early part of this work that the angels are all from the human race. They are human in their form and nature — men and women in an ad- vanced or thoroughly regenerate state. Therefore they must possess social qualities; and social qualities imply social relations, or the existence of societies. For man is a social being. 1 le was created to live in society ; and he cannot be happy without intercourse with his fellows. In a perfectly isolated state, what would there be to call forth his affections or to give exercise to his varied pow- ers? The faculties of each soul have a definite relation to Other souls, as truly as the eye has to light, the ear CIETIES FN HEAVa i.jo to air, the tongue to flavors, and the nose to odo Which proves that man w, ited for society, as plaii as our bodily senses, by their very constitution, presup- pose the existence of light, air, flavors and odors, which they bear a fixed unci definite relation. Resides, we know that people are not happy when de- prived of all intercourse with their fellows. And for this obvious reason : that they are gifted with affections which crave the fellowship of kindred minds, and they cannot be happy without the opportunity to exercise these af- fections. We can hardly conceive of a severer sentence than that which condemns a human being to solitary confinement for a long time. Cases have occurred where such isolation has caused an utter wreck of the mental faculties, reducing the individual to a state of lunacy. Unless, therefore, all the native and strong appetencies of the soul are to be extinguished in the Hereafter — un- less our mental constitution is to be entirely changed, we must then as now desire association with others. And to possess this innate social inclination, this hunger of the heart for society,- and at the same time to be de- nied the possibility of social intercourse, would render us supremely miserable. Much of our happiness in this world, comes from the exercise of our social feelings — from the interchange of thought with kindred minds, and the doing of kindly deeds for others. From all of which the conclusion is inevitable, that the angels must possess a social nature ; and if heaven is a happy state, they must have ample opportunity for its exercise. And this involves the necessity of social intercourse and social relations. 13* I 50 HEA I EN RE J r EAL ED. But do all the angels live in one and the same society? This seems highly improbable. It would not be in ac- cordance with the Divine order and arrangements as revealed in this lower world. Here, all things are dis- tributed into series or societies. They are beautifully grouped ; yet the groups exist and work together in ad- mirable harmony. There are groups of suns and systems in the immensity of space ; and groups of planets in the several systems. And on the earth trees and flowers are usually grouped, one variety flourishing in one locality, and a different one in another. So, too, birds, animals, insects and fishes are commonly found in groups. And every muscle in our bodies consists of a group of similar fibres, and every crystal in the bosom of the earth, of a group of lesser crystals. It is evidently God's plan, therefore, to arrange things of a similar nature into groups or societies. And we may reasonably conclude that man, for whose behoof all other things were created, would not form an excep- tion to this general plan. We should expect that heaven would be typified by the things of earth that are in order; and that the angels would be distributed into many dif- ferent but concordant societies. But a still stronger argument may be drawn from the known diversity in human character. This diversity de- pends not merely upon a difference in education, habits, and outward circumstances, but equally upon a difference in the native constitution of men's minds. No two minds are ever constituted precisely alike. No two things in the universe are exactly alike — no two pebbles on the Lch, no two leaves on a tree, no two feathers on a bi no two hairs on the head of man or body of beast And the reason is, that the Creator, being Himself infinite, delights in variety. And the diversity existing ami men in the original constitution of their minds as well as in their features and complexion, is similar to that ob- servable throughout the created universe. Sometimes this diversity is slight, as among people of the same tribe or nationality ; sometimes scarcely discernible, as among those of the same family. Again, — as among people of different races, the Malay and the American, the African and the Caucasian, — the diversity is very wide. And these people are just as different in their mental charac- teristics as in their physical constitution. Now this known diversity of character is the distribut- ing social force among people in this world, whereby they are arranged into different groups or societies. In general, different races and nationalities do not incline to associate. But Africans prefer the society of Africans; Chinamen the society of Chinese ; English, French, Ger- mans, Italians, etc., the society of those of their own nation. And for this obvious reason : that people of the same nation are usually most alike in their tastes, habits and feelings ; and people everywhere prefer the society of those who are most like themselves. And among people of the same country we find many different societies, resulting from diversity of character and that implanted inclination which leads men to pre- fer the society of kindred minds. Every one has his circle of intimate friends, in whose society he finds him- self most free and happy. And these arc usually peo- 152 HEAVEN REVEALED. pie of a character near akin to his own — of similar tastes, habits, manners, feelings and purposes. It is this simi- larity of character which draws them together, and ren- ders their society mutually agreeable. I fence we find those who are deeply absorbed in any particular subject — as temperance, peace, abolition, moral reform, and the like — anxious to make the acquaintance and enjoy the society of persons known to be interested in the same subject. And where religion has taken a strong hold on the mind of a community, especially if doctrine or ritual is more thought of than the spirit and life of religion, there you will find those of similar beliefs and ecclesiastical preferences, drawn into the same society. They associate under the prompting influence of that implanted instinct which attracts each one to his like. Thus Methodists prefer to associate with Methodists, Baptists with Bap- tists, Friends with Friends, Catholics with Catholics, and so on. And there is nothing wrong in this. Each one, in choosing the society of those most like himself, is but yielding to a law of his nature — the law of spiritual af- finity. The wrong comes when, through a narrow and mistaken view of the subject, people look upon those of a society or creed different from their own, as therefore inferior to or less righteous than themselves, and assume toward them an unfriendly attitude. We have an illustration of the same law in all volun- tary associations ; for the evil as well as the good are drawn together by mutual affinity. Thus profligates prefer the society of profligates, gamblers the society of gamblers, thieves the society of thieves; and tipplers, W HEAV* I 5 \ burglars, pirates, and the like, the society of those of like character. The law is universal. Everywhere like ones have an affinity for each other; and by the force of such affinity they are drawn and held together. And it is only in the society of like ones that they feel quite content and at home. They are then free and feel at home, because they feel at liberty to act out themselves — to speak as they think, and do as they desire. And the same great law is observable everywhere throughout the domains of animated nature. Beasts, birds, fishes and insects are found grouped according to this same law. Those of the same species are found in the same group, because of their mutual affinity. They love to be together. Nor does this law cease to operate even in the lower kingdoms of nature. Every tree is but a group of homogeneous fibres, and every simple mineral a group of homogeneous atoms which are drawn and held together by force of mutual attraction. There can be no doubt, therefore, about the universality of this law; and if universal, it must exist in heaven as well as on earth. But setting aside the argument from analogy, is not the wide diversity observable among men, viewed in connection with the fact that every one takes his own character with him into the other world, sufficient of itself to prove the distribution of the heavenly inhabi- tants into many distinct societies ? And from what we know of the law that governs in human associations on earth, we may infer the law that governs in angelic as- sociations in heaven. It is the law of spiritual affinity. In heaven as on earth, those nearest alike in character 1 5 | HEAVEN REVEALED. must love to be together, and feel happiest and most at home in each other's society. As natural attraction, therefore, is the law in the natural world, that arrang in distinct groups objects most nearly related, so spirit- ual attraction determined by the spiritual relationship and consequent affinity of spirits, ought to be the law in the spiritual world that distributes both good and evil spirits into man)' distinct societies. And precisely this is what has been revealed through Swedenborg on the subject. lie says that the angels are distributed into innumerable societies, some of them consisting of myriads and others of thousands. And there is nothing forced or arbitrary in this arrangement Every one goes in freedom to the society he loves and is nearest akin to. The law that governs in all angelic ociations, he says, is the law of spiritual affinity. Through the constant operation and force of this law, angels of like character are drawn together and held to- gether in the same society. To cite his own words: "The angels do not all dwell together in one place, but are distinguished into larger and smaller societies according to the differences of the good of love and faith in which they are. The)' who are in similar good form one society. Goods in the heavens are of infinite variety, and every angel is such in character as is his own good. Those of like character are brought to- ther as it were spontaneous!}'; for with their like they air as with their own [relations] and at home; but with others, as with strangers and abroad. When they are with their like they are also in their freedom, and thence in every delight of life. 41 All who are in similar good also know each other ■ — although they had never met before — just as men in i >; the world know their kindred, relations and fricn The reason is, that in the other life there are no kin- dreds, relationships and fri mdships but such as are S] itnal, that is, of love and faith. I have several times been permitted to see this, when I have been in the spirit, withdrawn as it were from the body, and thus in company with angels. On such occasions I hav< nc who seemed as if I had known them from infan But othei ned wholly unknown to me. They who med as it' known from infancy, were those who w in a state similar to the state of my spirit ; but they who were unknown, were in a dissimilar state." — II. II. n. 41-46 ; also A. R. n. 61 I. "The universal heaven is distinguished into soci< according to the differences of the love of good, and every spirit who is elevated into heaven and becom an angel, is conveyed to that society which is distin- guished by his ruling love. On his arrival there, he is as though he were at home, and living in the house where he was horn. The angel perceives this, and is there consociated with those like himself. When he departs thence, and goes to some other place, he is al- ways sensible of a certain inward resistance, attended with a desire to return to his like, and thus to his ruling love. It is in this way. that consociations in heaven are effected. The like occurs in hell, where also they are consociated according to loves which are the opposite of the loves of heaven." — Ibid. n. 479. All good people, we know, are not quite congenial, and would not be happy in each other's society. Their good is of a different quality; and there are many kinds and degrees of good even in heaven, some of which are widely different from others. "As all in heaven," says Swedenborg, "are distinguished according to goods, it 156 HEA l r EN RE I BALED. may be clearly seen how manifold and various good is; for it is so various that there is no instance of one being in like good with another; yea, if myriads of myriads should be multiplied to eternity, the good of one would not be like that of another, just as the face of one is never like the face of another. Good also in the heav- ens forms the faces of the angels." — A. C. n. 7236. And as there are countless degrees of good in heaven, so there is, according to Swedenborg, an endless variety there. And this variety adds greatly to its perfection. It is this which necessitates the distribution of the angels into many distinct societies; for only those who are in a similar kind and degree of good, have a strong affec- tion for each other. There may be a thousand persons — all good; but their good may be so different both in kind and in degree, that they feel no strong attraction toward each other, and would not, if left in perfect free- dom, choose each other's society. Being spiritually un- like, they would prefer to live apart; for they are spir- itually remote from each other. As Swedenborg says : "The angelic societies in the heavens are also distant from each other according to the general and specific differences of their goods. For distances in the spirit- ual world are from no other origin than from a differ- ence in the states of the interiors; consequently, in the heavens, from a difference in the states of love. Those arc far apart who differ much, and those are near who differ little. Similarity brings them together." — II. 11. n. 42. " All in heaven are consociatcd according to spiritual affinities, which are those of good and truth in their order. So is it in the whole heaven, SO in every society, SOCIE Til S IN HEAV1 l$7 and so in every house. Hence it is that the angels who are in similar good and truth, know each other like those related by consanguinity and affinity on earth, just as if thc>- had been acquainted from infancy." — 11. II. n. 205. We are told, also, that there is a similarity of expres- sion— a strong family likeness — among those of the same society; for the affections are there clearly revealed in the face, which is their representative image. No one in heaven has a face that does not correspond to and faith- fully express his prevailing affections. M All who belong to the same angelic society, resemble each other in general, but not in particular. ... It is well known that every race of people have some general re- semblance in the face and eyes, whereby they are known and distinguished fron) other races; and the distinction between families is still more marked. But it is more perfect in the heavens, because there all the interior af- fections appear and shine forth from the face, for the face in heaven is the external and representative form of those affections. No one in heaven is permitted to have a face that is not in correspondence with his affections." — Ibid, n. 47. The reasonableness of all this is too obvious to need any argument. And these disclosures accord with the teachings of Scripture as well as with the intuitions of reason. The " many mansions " in the Father's house of which the Divine Saviour spake, clearly point to the many angelic societies resulting from the endless di- versity of good and truth in heaven. Besides, the word translated heaven is usually found in the plural (heavens), both in the original Hebrew and Greek of the Bible — another circumstance indicative of the fact that there are 14 158 WEN RE VEALED. many heavens, or many different states, all of which are od ami heavenly, necessitating therefore many differ- ent angelic societies; for every such society is a heaven in a less form. The apostle Paul, too, speaks of being u caught up to the third heaven " on one occasion, — a fact revealing a diversity of state among the angels, and the consequent plurality of the heavenly societies. Moreover, there are just as strong reasons for the division of the whole angelic heaven into distinct so- cieties, as there are for the division of all the inhabitants of the spiritual world into the two classes of good and evil ; or for the Scripture doctrine of a heaven of angels and a hell of devils. For the many different societies both in heaven and in hell, result from the operation of the same law that produces the two grand divisions of spirits whereof the Bible so often speaks — the law of spiritual affinity. This law is not arbitrary, nor of man's inventing, but has its foundation in the very constitution of the human soul, and is as fixed as the law of chemical affinity. It is by virtue of this law that angels of like character are drawn together and held together in the same society. For every one in the other world yields to his attractions, and goes whithersoever his ruling love leads him ; and this invariably leads him to the society of those who are most like himself. There he is as if with his own kindred — they are his spiritual kindred. There he is in freedom, is contented and happy. There, and there only, does he feel quite at home. And here we have another display of the Lord's bound- less wisdom and love in providing a home in his own house for every one who has learned to love the good Til S i v Hi .11 and the true in however humble a . The African and the Arab, the Hindu and the Turk, the Anglo- Saxon and the Indian -every one of whatever color, clime, or creed, who has religiously followed, the light vouchsafed him, will find there a congenial home in the :iety of kindred spirits, lie will be among his spir- itual kith and kin, and have no desire to he elsewhere, being in just the society that is suited to him, and that lie most covets. But the heaven of the Mahometan will not be that of the Christian, nor will all the good from Christian lands dwell together, but everyone in his own heaven — every one in the society of those he loves best, and in happiness proportioned to the kind and degree of his goodness. All who have an affinity for the society of the just, will find a congenial home in some one of the " many mansions " in the realms above. Then look at the practical tendency of this doctrine. It is plain to see how it discountenances that narrow and exclusive spirit which would have us believe there is but one kind and degree of goodness, but one acceptable or saving creed, and but one denomination or church through which an entrance into heaven can be effected. It inculcates the beautiful truth which all the best peo- ple in Christendom are beginning to see and acknowl- edge, that the church on earth — though one in spirit, like the societies in heaven — must needs consist of an end- less variety. It deals a fatal blow, therefore, to the old sectarianism which has so long disfigured and misrepre- sented the Christian religion ; and shows that it is a part of the beautiful economy of God, avouched by every- thing in heaven as well as on earth, that people's minds I Go in . 1 1 '/■ N RE J '/■:. / /. i:d. should differ not less widely than their faces; and that this very diversity, giving rise to different denominations or churches, will ado! to the beauty, Strength and per- fection of the whole, when all shall become animated by the Divine Master's spirit. The catholic spirit of the New Theology, by which as well as by its doctrines it is so broadly distinguished from the Old, and which is well illustrated by the diver- sity in the heavenly societies, may be further seen from passages like the following, in which the writings of Swedenborg abound. " When love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor, that is, the good of life, are made the essen- tials with all and with each individual, then churches, how many soever they may be, make one ; and each is then one in the kingdom of the Lord. This is also the case in respect to heaven where there are innumerable societies, all different from each other; but still they constitute one heaven, because all are principled in love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor [though in different degrees]." — A. C. n. 2982. "The varieties and differences of doctrinals [in the various churches] are innumerable. . . Hut notwith- standing there are so many varieties and differences, still they together form one church when all acknowl- edge charity as the essential of the church; or, what is the same, when they have respect to life as the end of doctrine; that is, when they inquire how a man of the church lives % and not so much what are his sentiments; for every one in the other life is gifted with a lot from the Lord according to the good of his life, not accord- ing to the truth of doctrine separate from this good." — Ibid n. 3241. TN HEAVl 161 "The Lord's spiritual kingdom \\\ the heavens is va- rious according to what appertains to faith, insomuch that there is not one society, nor even one in ty, who, in those things which relate to the truth of faith, is entirely agreed with others as to his ideas. Never- theless the Lord's spiritual kingdom in the heavens is one, because all account charity as principal; for charity constitutes the spiritual church, and not faith, unless you say that faith is charity. Whoever is prin- cipled in charity, loves his neighbor, and with i I to his dissenting from him in matters of belief this he ex- cuses, provided only that he livSs in goods and truths. lie does not even condemn the well-disposed Gentiles, although they are ignorant of the Lord, and know not any truth of faith ; for he who lives in charity, that is, in good, receives such truths from the Lord as suit with his eood ; and £ood Gentiles receive such truths as in another life may be bended into truths of faith." — A. C. n. 3267. 11 Let this truth be received as a principle, that love to the Lord and charity towards our neighbor are the essentials on which hang all the law, and concerning which all the prophets speak, and thus that they are the essentials of all doctrine and of all worship, then all heresies would vanish, and out of many churches would be formed one church, how r ever they might differ as to doctrines and rituals. . . Then all would be governed as one man by the Lord, being like the members and organs of our body, which, although diverse in their forms and functions, have nevertheless relation to one heart on which they all depend both in general and in particular, be their respective forms ever so various. In this case, too, every one would say of another, in whatso- ever doctrine or in whatsoever external worship he was principled, This is my brother; I see that he worships the Lord, and that he is a good man." — Ibid. n. 2385. 14 L 1 62 lll.MI.X RE VEALED. u Let numbers be multiplied even to thousands and tens of thousands, if they are all principled in charity or mutual love, they all have one end, namely, the common good, the kingdom of the Lord, and the Lord himself. In which case the varieties in matters of doctrine and wor- ship, are like the varieties of the senses and viscera in man, which contribute to the perfection of the whole. For then the Lord, by means of charity, enters into and operates upon all, with a difference of manner accord- ing to the particular temper of each ; and thus arranges all and every one into order, as in heaven so on earth. And thus the will of the Lord is done on earth as it is in heaven, according to what He himself teaches." — A. C. n. 1285. XIII. THE 1 1 I'M AX FORM OF HEAVEX. SWEDENBORG tells us repeatedly that heaven is in the human form. Not only every angel and every society of angels, but the entire angelic heaven, he saws, is in this form ; so that the angels, viewed collectively, appear before the Lord as one man. To cite a single passage : "The entire heaven resembles one man, who is there- fore also called the Grand Man {Maximus Homo). And what is wonderful and hitherto unknown, all the parts of tile human body correspond to societies in heaven. Wherefore it has been occasionally said that some of those societies belong to the province of the head, some to that of the eye, others to that of the breast, and so on." — A. C. n. 2853. See also n. 684, 1276, 2996, '8, 3021, 3061. THE HUMAN FORM OF /////. 103 This, we arc aware, has an odd sound to the ears of most people when they hear it for the first time. P haps there are few things in the writings which appear more arbitrar\- or fanciful — or, to some minds, more ridiculous. It is usually one of the fust things which an opponent of his teachings seizes upon and flouts. It is often referred to as sufficient evidence in itself of the wild and fantastic character of his teachin Thus the Rev. Dr. Pond, in his u Swedenborgianism Re- viewed," after devoting two or three pages to a statement of the doctrine, adds, — " To my own apprehension, the whole account is su- premely ridiculous ; being destitute alike of sense and decency, and worthy only of contempt." — p. 196. Let us see, then, if the doctrine be either ridiculous or unreasonable. But first let us endeavor to learn what the author meant that we should understand by the ex- pression, Maximus Homo. When Swedenborg says that heaven is in the human form, he uses the word form in the sense in which we use it when speaking of civil, social, or ecclesiastical affairs. We speak of a form of government; but when such expression is used, no one thinks of any visible shape, but of the nature and adjustment of the various parts composing the government. A person who reads and understands the organic law of the state, sees therein its form of government. We speak, also, of the form of society in a particular age or nation ; and by this is meant the nature and relation of its several parts — the nature and arrangement of its social, industrial, commercial, edu- 164 HEAVEN REVEALED. rational, artistic, moral and religious elements. Again, we speak of the form of a church, or of church polity; and by this we mean the order, relation, subordination, ., of its various functionaries, the mode of their ap- pointment, and their respective duties. When it is said; therefore, that heaven is in the human form, the meaning is that it is in human order; that all the innumerable societies of which it consists, are so arranged and adjusted as to express most perfectly the truly human principles which constitute the essential spirit and life of heaven. In other words, the relation, mutual dependence, and intercommunication of the so- cieties composing the whole angelic heaven, and the uses the\- respectively perform, correspond to those existing among the various organs of the human body, and to their respective uses. One is a perfect representative image of the other. Accordingly, Swedenborg often speaks of the angelic societies as located in different organs of the Grand Man; of some as in the head, some in the heart, some in the spleen, some in the liver; and of others, again, as in the eye, ear, knee, or foot. And his meaning is, that such cieties correspond to these bodily organs ; that is to say, their relation to the other societies of heaven and the special functions which they perform in the Grand Man, correspond to the relation existing among such bodily organs, and to their respective uses in the human body. 11 It has also," he says, " been given me to know what particular angelic societies belong to each particular province of the body, also what are their qualities; as, :: ///.// [6s for instance, what and of what quality belong to the province of the heart ; what and of what quality to the province of the lungs ; what and of what quality to that the liver; also what and of what quality to the difl ent sensories r as the eye, the ear, the tongue, and so on." —A. C. n. j >8. It thus becomes plain what he means when he says that heaven is in the hum m form. It is a spiritual and not a natural idea which he is endeavoring to expn And when we -hall have fairly grasped his meaning, and duly considered the subject, we shall see that he could have employed no other terms which would express so fully and with such precision the beautiful and orderly arrangement of the whole angelic heaven, and the har- monious relation of its innumerable and diverse societies. But let us push our inquiry a little further, that we may see more clearly the ground and origin as well as the truth of this disclosure. Everything that exists must exist in some form. And the forms of all things will be found to correspond to their essential nature, or. to the kind of life that de- termines their forms. The form always corresponds to the essence. The ox, the eagle, the lion, the dove, each has a form suited to its needs, or correspondent to its own peculiar life. It follows that the higher and nobler the life, the more beautiful and perfect will be the form ; otherwise there w r oultl be no correspondence of one with the other. If we look at the lowest creatures in the animal king- dom, we find them closely allied to vegetables, consist- ing of few parts, and these comparatively simple in their VEALED. Structure. Their forms arc inferior, and their wants and capacities correspondingly limited. As we ascend the scale of animated nature, we find a gradual increase of wants ; powers more varied ; faculties enlarged and multi- plied. And corresponding to this increase of desires and enlargement and multiplication of faculties, we find the forms of life also becoming more complex. We find them rising above the earth, provided with the means of locomotion, and simulating, in degrees more or less re- mote, the human form ; until at length we arrive at man, the last link in the great chain connecting all below him with all above. Created to stand erect, with his feet upon the earth and his face toward heaven, he alone is capable of looking above himself, and of intelligently reciprocat- ing or giving back the love and wisdom which flow from (jod. In man, therefore, the circle of life is complete. In a state of order he is the image and likeness of his Maker. He is the complex, therefore, of all the powers and gifts of other creatures, with the two human faculties — liberty and rationality — superadded. Now it is because human life is the highest and noblest kind of life — because human wants are more numerous, and the human faculties more enlarged, exalted, and varied than those of any other creature, that the human form through whose instrumentality alone these faculties can manifest themselves, is the very perfection of all forms. God himself, who is the perfection of all that is human, is in this form. lie is a perfect Divine Alan. In Him everything truly human exists in infinite fulness, variety and perfection. Therefore when He manifested Himself on earth to the eye of sense, He appeared in the human form. And \\ hen in more ancient times I [e filled the body of an angel with his own Divine life, and ti. ame manifest to the spiritual of his chosen rs as "the angel of Jehovah/' his form was alwa the human. Ami it is a Divinelj lied truth that man was created in the image and likeness of God. His form, therefore, is one capable of receiving ^nd expressing, in a finite degree, something of that truly human life which flows from the Divine Humanity. This life when re- ceived, becomes in man the life of love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor. And this is the essential life of heaven. Other creatures below man may receive and enjoy lower degrees of life ; but he alone can receive and enjoy this higher or heavenly life, because he alone is in the human form. And the more we receive of this life, the more truly human we become in our thoughts, feelings, dispositions and purposes; and the more faith- fully do we express through our human form — by our looks, words and actions — the love and wisdom which are the essential constituents of true humanity. For the most beautiful and perfect human form is that which best expresses the purest and most exalted human love. And as it is with a single individual, so with a society or community — with men in the aggregate. The more of true human life each member of a community receives, or the more each one suffers himself to be governed by the highest good and truth, the more orderly, industrious, united, healthy and happy is that community. The more truly human does it become in its form, organization and activities. It appoints its wisest men to preside over its l6S HEAVEN RL I infc very one is aiming to subject himself to the government of the highest good and truth. And so the form or order of that community becomes more and more human. All its corporate acts express more and more faithfully the human thoughts and feelings with which the minds of its individual members are im- bued. Such community is in the human form, therefore, just so far as the individual minds composing it are truly human. It is the tendency of true human life, wherever it exists, to mould the collective as well as the individual man into a corresponding human form. But a consideration of the wonderful mechanism of the human body, and of the mutual dependence of its various parts, will furnish the best idea of the human form, and reveal most clearly the order of heaven. For as the body in its cntireness corresponds to the soul, so its different parts correspond to the various faculties and functions of the soul, or to the goods and truths of heaven in their various orders and degrees. Therefore the bodily organs correspond to the various societies of which the whole angelic heaven is composed, and which are the living embodiment of these goods and truths. On a careful survey of the human System, we find it composed of numerous parts which are all different from each other. Its structure is the most complex of any object in the universe. There is no other created thing which consists of so many parts; yet no two of the parts are found to be precisely alike. Some of them differ widely both in form and function. But, notwith- standing the endless number and diversity of parts, they are all mutually dependent, mutually adapted to each I >A'.]/ < I' other's wants, .mil work together in admirable harmony, n however minute, has its post led it, and its appropriate work given it to do The brain, rt, liver, pleura, the lungs, pancreas, and abdominal viscera how different are these from each other in their form and structure! How different also in their functions, or in the work given them to do! Yet how admirably do they harmonize! What entire unanimity among these numerous and diverse parts ! What per- fect concert ^i action! — all the more perfect b< ni their diversity. With what beautiful brotherly love do they all work ton-ether, and what tender regard has each for the welfare of all the rest! If one is out of order, all the others are more or less uncomfortable. If one suffers, all the rest sympathize and suffer with it. It is a law — and herein we have a beautiful illustration of the great law of brotherhood — that each shall discharge its appropriate function, not apart from the others and for the sake of itself alone, but in harmony with and for the welfare of all the rest. And the more faithfully it labors to do this, the more does it promote its own health and strength, as well as the health and strength of the other members. The welfare of each is linked indissolubly with that of all the others. One life pervades them all, and each receives and enjoys that life in proportion as it respects and faithfully w T orks for the good of the whole. The moment one ceases to do its work, or ap- propriates more than its share of the juices elaborated, or more than it needs to fit it for the performance of its appointed use, that moment comes disease — disease to itself and disease to all the rest. And if it persevere in 15 I/O HEAVEN REVEALED. this abnormal course, sooner or later death ensues. Such is the law, fixed and unalterable. There is no escape from it. And what a striking exemplification docs it furnish of the great law of spiritual life, the law of neighborly love! — yes, and the sure consequence of a persistent violation of this law. Although one life pervades all the bodily organs, they do not all receive it alike. Their receptivity is as various as their forms. Some receive it in a higher degree than others, and perform more important and varied functions, and may therefore be said to be of a higher grade. And so there are gradations of rank among the members of the body. No one is entirely independent of the rest. No one is so high that it can dispense with the services of the most humble, and no one so low that it cannot do something to promote the health and strength of the highest. The head needs the foot, and the heart the hand, no less than the foot needs the head or the hand the heart. Even the hair and nails and the coarse cuticle on the soles of the feet have their use, and add to the beauty, completeness and perfection of the whole. Behold, here, then, in the human body, a representa- tive image of heaven! — the most perfect image of order, harmony, unity, freedom, mutual dependence and broth- erly love! The relation of the bodily organs to each other, and the uses they respectively perform, are as the relation existing among the angelic societies, and their respective uses; because heaven as a whole and in each of its parts, is in the human form. And notwithstand- ing there are in heaven as in the human body grada- THE HUMAN FORM OF ///.//. i;r tions of rank and office, notwithstanding some th< have more important functions to perform than others, there is no pride or disdain on the one hand, nor envy or humiliation on the other, any more than among the different members of the body. Notwithstanding there exist authority and obedience, there is nothing like tyr- anny on the one hand or slavishness on the other. There is the most perfect freedom coupled with un- speakable bliss; for everyone acts as his ruling love prompts, but he loves nothing which is not good and true. Be his office high or low, he does precisely that which he is qualified to do best, and in the doing of which he finds a pure delight. Conscious that he could not be so useful or happy in any other sphere, he has no desire to be anywhere or anything else than he is. Whatever there is, therefore, of exaltation or subordi- nation, of authority or obedience there, neither is felt or thought of as such, any more than in the human body. From what has been said, we trust that Swedenborg's meaning, when he says that heaven is in the human form, will be sufficiently plain. And although the heav- enly societies are innumerable, and all different from each other, yet there exists the most perfect union among them — a union corresponding to, and beautifully symbolized by, that among the different organs of the human body. And herein is revealed the true nature of that union among Christians on earth, to which the Lord refers when He speaks of his disciples being made "perfect in one/' It is a union of parts that arc as different as are the different members of the human 172 HEAVEN RE I J- I /.I.IK body; parts animated, nevertheless, by one and the same life, as in the case of the bodily organs; for the tial life of all in heaven, is the life of love to the Lord and the neighbor. It cannot be denied that the human form is the most perfect of all forms. .And if the Lord's disciples (and surely those composing the heavenly societies are to be reckoned as such) are "made perfect in one," then must the whole hcawn of angels be in the human form ; and the doctrine of the Grand Man as revealed through Swedenborg, must be true. For under any other form than the human, or arranged in any other order than that of the different parts of the human body, the heav- enly societies could not be said to be " perfected into one;" since their arrangement would be less beautiful and orderh' and their union less perfect than it might be. Then the testimony of the great Apostle to the Gen- tiles might be cited in corroboration of the truth of this doctrine. Writing to the Church at Rome, he says: 11 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, so we, being many, are one body in Christ." (Rom. xii. 4, 5.) Again to the Corinthian Church: " For the body is not one mem- ber, but many ; and ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." lie further says there is no schism among the bodily members, and there ought not, therefore, to be any in the body of Christ ; that the various parts or members of this body (the church), 11 should have the same care one for another." )\v the church on earth ought to be, and so far as W/AfAA HE ll [73 it is a true and living church it will be, an im heaven. And Paul, in the passages referred to, plainly teaches that the church of Christ is in the human form ; that its various parts or members, in their mutual rela- tion and dependence, correspond to the different parts iA the human body. And if many prison 1 earth — all of them disciples of the Lord — arc "one body in Christ, and every one members one of another," should not the same be true in heaven ? Should not the diver- sity be even greater there than in the church on earth, and the harmony and union at the same time more complete? and the form or order oi heaven, therefore, more perfectly human than that of the church? What, now, are the practical considerations suggested by this disclosure? — for it has important practical bear- ings. What is its legitimate tendency? Plainly to en- large and liberalize the mind that accepts it, and to im- part to the affections something of that breadth and cx- pansiveness which characterize the Lord's all-encirclinp- love. It shows us that there are innumerable kinds and degrees of good and truth in heaven, all derived from the infinity of the Divine Goodness; endless diversity of character and state even among the angels, and conse- quently a place somewhere in the abodes of the blessed, for every one who has within him anything of the life of heaven, however humble in quality or limited in de- gree. It is opposed, therefore, to everything like nar- rowness, bigotry, sectarianism, or exclusiveness. It encourages us to look chiefly at the essential things of religion,— the spirit and the life of heaven,— and to regard as of comparatively small consequence whatever does 15* 174 & v REVEALED. not lead to or in some way promote these. It rebult the natural disposition to make ourselves the standards of all excellence, and to judge the character of others by our own peculiar views and feelings; and does not allow us to depreciate anotli use it differs from our own in kind or in degree. It teaches us that >od people are not all alike; that, although so differ- ent sometimes as to be quite uncongetfial to each other, the}- may, nevertheless, belong to the great body of ( hrist, — may dwell, as to their spirits, in the same I Ieav- enly Father's house, although in different apartments. The doctrine further teaches that the most perfect union, harmony, peace and good-fellowship arc compat- ible with great diversity of character, rank, occupation and office; that this diversity, indeed, renders the union and harmony all the more perfect when the different parts in the social body are duly adjusted, and one life pervades them all. It shows us that gradations of rank and character may exist without pride, disdain, or tyr- anny on the one hand, or envy, jealousy, or humiliation on the other; and that these very gradations furnish wider scope for the infinitely diversified powers of man, and multiply and strengthen the ties that bind the hu- man race together. Its tendency is to make us regard as honorable every position and occupation in life which i^ useful ; to lead every one to desire and seek just that sphere of usefulness which his gifts of body and mind best qualify him to fill; and whether that sphere be h or l<»w -in the head or foot, the eye or hand of the social body — to work there contentedly and faith- full}', forever thankful that he is a man. 1 | this doctrine b Tally accepted and devoutly believed, and what a change would speedily be wrought by it in nearly all existing churches! How quickly would bigotry, intolerance, and belittling sectarianism — all doleful creatures of the night — take their depart- ure, as owls and bats retire at the approach of dawn I r all agree that the Church on earth ought to he, and in a state of true order will be, somewhat like the church in heaven. All Christians, indeed, pray for this. Accepting, therefore, the new doctrine of the human form of heaven — the doctrine of endless diversity coupled with completest harmony and unity — they would no longer aim at perfect uniformity in things pertaining to the church, for they would see that no such uniformity exists in heaven. They would see that perfect agreement in doctrine or ritual (save in two or three fundamentals) is neither to be expected nor de- sired; that variety everywhere — in the spiritual no less than in the natural realm — is the Divine order. And ing this, they would allow and encourage the utmost freedom of thought and inquiry on religious or doctri- nal questions, not deprecating but cordially welcoming whatever diversity might result from such freedom. Prejudice against new ideas, or against writings said to contain them, would evcrvwhere be condemned and frowned upon as a hindrance to religious progress. Thus would bigotry and intolerance be banished from the churches, and in their place w r ould come a grand catholicity, broad and beautiful as that in heaven. In- stead of antagonistic sects warring against, fretting and weakening each other, we should have, out of many i ; 6 in-:. 1 1 r EN RE J '/■:. 1 1. i:n. and diverse communions, one harmonious and united Church ; not one in doctrine, discipline and form of external worship, but one in spirit, — one in the real and practical acknowledgment of the Lord and his Word, — a Church all the more beautiful and perfect, because of the endless diversity among its component parts. It cannot be denied, therefore, that this doctrine of the human form of heaven, is good and wholesome in its practical tendency. And what stronger evidence of its truth could anyone desire than this? No such beneficent results could flow legitimately from a doc- trine which is itself false. 4< Of a bramble-bush men do not gather grapes," M neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." XIV. A HEAVEN FOR THE NON-CHRISTIAN WORLD. IT will not be denied that, since the memorable year 1757 — the alleged date of the last General Judgment — the human race, especially throughout Christendom, has enjoyed a steadily increasing degree of enlighten- ment on religious as well as on all other subjects. The nev tven has been pressing with continually rmenting force upon all minds — pressing in every di- :tion like a subtle and elastic atmosphere. And under the influence of this pressure, a gradual change in theo- ic thought has been going on in the minds of indi- viduals and churches. The theology of Swedenborg's A Hi 177 day has le important modifications, and the cha • still in pr The th y of the present time as it exists in the popular mind (however it may remain unaltered id the Cn \ quite different from that of the last ttion, Hence it is not uncommon to meet with persons nowadays, who disbelieve and re- y of the doctrines set forth in the very cre< ds y have subscribed And others who still prof loyalty to the "standards," are found giving to their creed a very different interpretation from that clearly intended by its original fram This is one of the hopeful signs of our times : — A green and tender leaf on the fig-tree, which proclaims a spiritual summer nigh. In the fluctuation and modifica- tion of religious beliefs which we see going on around us, there is abundant cause for joy and hope. It is be- cause the fountains of the great deep in men's minds are breaking up, and the windows of heaven are opening, and increasing light from out the new angelic heavens is bursting upon the world, that such things are coming to pass. It is, moreover, a verification of what Swe- denborg foresaw and predicted more than a century ago. " In consequence and by means of the Last Judg- ment," he says, "the communication between heaven and the world, or between the Lord and the church, has been restored. "The state of the world and of the church before the Last Judgment was as evening and night, but after it as morning and day. "After the Last Judgment was accomplished, there was joy in heaven, and such light in the world of spirits M // V REVEALED. as was not there before. . . A similar light also arose in n in the world, giving them new enlightenment." — titin. L. J. ii, 13, 30. Mow, because of the changes in religious thought here referred to, it is difficult to say what is the present prevailing belief among Christians respecting the con- dition of the non-Christian world in the Hereafter. But the general belief in Swedenborg's day was, that all the heatlu-n (unless converted to Christianity before dying) must perish everlastingly. Archbishop Cranmer says: 11 If we should have heathen parents, and d\c without baptism, we should be damned everlastingly." And Noel's catechism, regarded as high authority in the Church of England, saws : "Without the church [mean- ing outside of the church professing the Christian re- ligion] there can be nothing but damnation and death." This was the declared doctrine also of the Council of Trent, was held by the Roman Catholic Church, and believed, too, by Luther and Calvin. The latter says: "Without her bosom [that is, outside the pale of the Christian Church] no remission of sins or salvation is to be hoped for." — Ed. Harold Browne's Expn. of 39 4 \rti- cleSt p. 44;, X. Y. Ed. 1865. Then, if we read attentively the letters from foreign missionaries and the reports of Missionary Societies, or note the expressions used in prayers and sermons at meetings held in aid of the cause of foreign missions, we cannot fail to see that the belief is still clung to by Protestant Christians, that the myriads in the heathen world, unless converted to Christianity, are all doomed to hell. Besides, this belief is a strictly logical inference 7 from some of the doctrines of the former Christian church regarded as fundamental and uch .is the doctrine of vicarious atonement, and justification and ration by faith alone The evidence, therefore, is abundant and undeniable, that the genera] and well-nigh universal belief both of Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians prior to Swedenborg's time, was, that all of the non-Christian or Gentil Id who die unconverted to Christianity, must inevitably be lost, and forever suffer the torments ()\ the damned. We need not stop to show the unreasonableness and cruelty of such a doctrine; nor how it mars the beauty of the Divine character, and militates against every right conception of God's love and justice. This must be suf- ficiently apparent to all. To suppose that God would permit hundreds of millions of human beings to be born in regions where He knew they would live and die with- out any belief in the Gospel of our Lord, or any knowl- ;c even of the existence of such a Gospel, and that He would provide no means for the salvation of these innumerable hosts; and, to suppose, further, that they are all to be doomed to eternal hell torments for not believing doctrines which they never had the opportu- nity of learning, were a supposition so extreme in its unreasonableness, that we can only wonder it should ever have been entertained for a moment by any sane people. The belief is too absurd and revolting to merit a serious refutation. Talk about Swedenborg's madness ! Why, if he had ever taught anything half so absurd and monstrous as this old dogma, once so generally accepted I So HEAVEN REVEALED. among Christians, there would indeed have been good >und lor such imputation. Let US now hear the New Church doctrine on this subject, as revealed through the illumined Swede. And if you consider the general darkness of the period in which lie lived as compared with our own times, you can the more easily judge whether his claim to have written under a special Divine illumination, be or be not well founded. " It is a common opinion that those who are born out of the church, who are called Heathen or Gentiles, can- not be saved, because the)' have not the Word and are therefore ignorant of the Lord, without whom there can be no salvation. Nevertheless it may be known that they also are saved, from these considerations alone: that the mercy of the Lord is universal, that is, extended toward even' individual ; that they are born men as well as those within the church, who are respectively few; and that it is no fault of theirs that they are ignorant of the Lord. " Every person who thinks from enlightened reason, may see that no man is born for hell ; for the Lord is love itself, and it is agreeable to his love that all be saved. Therefore also lie has provided that all shall have some kind of religion, and thereby be in the ac- knowledgment of a Divine, and in the enjoyment of interior life: for to live according to religion is to live interiorly. For then man looks up to a Divine; and as far as he looks up to a Divine he does not esteem the world, but removes himself from it, consequently from the life of the world, which is exterior life. n That Gentiles are saved as well as Christians, may be known to those who understand what it is that makes heaven in man. For heaven is in man ; and those who have heaven in themselves enter heaven after death. It ./ HE // is heaven in man to acknowledge a Divine and be by 1 1 i in. •'It is known that Gentiles live a moral life as i as Christians, and that many of them live better than Christians. Wen live a moral life either for the sake of the Divine, or from a regard to the opinion of the world. The moral life which is lived for the sake of tin- Divine is spiritual life. Both appear alike in the external form, but in the intern il they are altogether different ( I saves man; the other dnc> not. For he who lives a moral life from a regard to the opinions of the world, is led by himself. But let this be illustrated by an ex- ample. 44 I have often been instructed that Gentiles who have led a moral life, have lived in obedience and subordina- tion, and in mutual charity according to their religion, and have thence received something of conscience, are accepted in the other life, and are there instructed with anxious care by angels in the goods and truths of faith ; and that, while under instruction, they behave themselves modestly, intelligently and wisely, and willingly receive truths and are imbued with them. Besides, they have formed to themselves no principles of the false contrary to the truths of faith, which are to be shaken off, much less scandals against the Lord, — like many Christians who cherish no other idea of Him than that of a com- mon man." — II. II. n. 318-321. "The mercy of the Lord is infinite, and does not suf- fer itself to be confined to the small number within the church, but extends itself to all throughout the world. For those who are born out of the church, and are thereby in ignorance as to matters of faith, are not blamable on that account ; nor are they ever condemned for not hav- ing faith toward the Lord, because they are not aware of his existence. What considerate person can suppose the greatest part of mankind must perish eternally, be- 16 l82 HEAVEN REVEALED. they were not born in that quarter of the globe denominated Europe, which respectively contains so few? Or that the Lord would permit reat a multitude of human beings to be brought into existence to perish in rnal death? This would be alike contrary to the Di- vine nature and to mercy. Besides, those who are out of the church and are called (untiles, live a much more moral life than those within the church, and far more easily embrace the doctrine of a true faith. This is very evident from the state of souls in another life; for the worst of ail are those who come from the so-called Chris- tian world, hearing mortal hatred both against their neighbor and the Lord, and being more addicted to adul- ter}' than any other people on the face of the earth." — A. C. 1032. This, remember, comes professedly as a revelation on the subject we are considering. And what shall we say of it? That it is unreasonable? — senseless? — indicative of some strange hallucination on the part of the seer? On the contrary, it is so perfectly in accord with the dic- tates of reason and common sense, that the rejection of it, or even a doubt about its truth, would seem to indi- cate a mental condition closely allied to insanity. Since God is love, lie can never forsake any portion of the children of men. He can never be indifferent to their welfare. 1 Ie can never cease his efforts to save and bless them. If He should, that moment lie would lose or lay aside his most distinguishing attribute: He would erase to be Infinite Love. For it is in the very nature of this love to be " long-suffering," "plenteous in mercy and truth," " not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." And it is in the nature of Divine Wisdom to adapt its teachings to mankind in ir various >pment and of moral at. When, therefore, man perverts the h truths, and extinguishes in himself their light and life, then truths of a lower order ai n him— truths better suited to his lower mu\ perverse state ; and Infinite- Love ks to secure his obedience to these. And when, through the perversion of these, lie sinks to a still lower more external state, then truths of ayet lower degree are mercifully vouchsafed him. Thus the Lord, in the plenitude of his wisdom and love, forever adapts his truth to the states of all finite minds. Kvermore does I Ie impart to all his human off- spring as much and as pure truth as they are able to re- ceive. And when they fall into states to profane the highest truths, then these are mercifully taken from them ; or what is equivalent, their eyes are veiled, as it were, so that they may not see or acknowledge them to be truths. As it is written: " He hath blinded their eyes and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be con- V< rted, and I should heal them." (John xii. 40.) This is as true of nations as it is of individuals. Hence no nation has ever been left without a religion of some sort, nor without some religious truth. And the form which religion takes in any age or country, and the char- acter and amount of religious truth which is acknowl- edged, will depend on the general state of the people, and be suited to their state. And more and higher truth will be given them so soon as they are prepared to re- ceive it. None of the heathen nations, therefore, are left wholly I $4 HEAVEN REVEALED. destitute of religious truth. With all the errors and ab- surdities in the Mahometan and Pagan religions, there are to be found many important truths, man)- wholesome precepts, many laws of heavenly charity. And all who obey these laws from a principle of religion, are thereby saved from the evils they forbid. And not only this, but fidelity to the little truth they know, prepares them for the reception of more and higher truth when they enter the other world. A person may be born amid such surroundings that he will be brought up in great ignorance and even in the belief of great errors, and yet be preserved in a state of child-like innocence. And as this is a state receptive of wisdom, such person will readily receive instruction in the world of spirits, and be there fitted for the kingdom of heaven in the way that children are. We may thus see how it is possible for people in the non-Christian nations, to be finally admit- ted into heaven, notwithstanding the many errors they imbibed on earth. Indeed they may, on account of their greater innocence and simplicity, receive instruction in the other world more readily than many Christians. u Occasionally," says Swedenborg, " it has been grant- ed me to converse with Christians in another life con- cerning the state and lot of the Gentiles out of the church, that they receive the truths and goods of faith more easily than Christians who have not lived according to the Lord's precepts ; and that Christians think cruelly con- cerning them in supposing that all who are out of the church are damned, and this in consequence of a received canon, that out of the Lord there is no salvation; and that this is true, but that the Gentiles who have lived in mutual charity, and have done what is just and equitable A //. i 5 from a kind of conscience, in another life receive Faith and acknowledge the Lord more easily than they who are within the church and have not lived In such charity; also that Christians are in a false principle in sup; that they alone have heaven, because they have the 1)- >ok of the Word written i>\\ paper but not in their hearts; and that they know the Lord, and yet do not beli< Him Divine as to his Human, yea, acknowledge Him only as a common man as to his other essence which they call the human nature; and on this account when they are left to themselves and their knowledges, do not even adore I lim ; and therefore they are the people who are out ol~ the Lord, for whom there is no salvation."—* A. C. n. 4190. "All the good of charity even among the Gentiles, is seed from the Lord ; for although they have not the good of faith as those within the Church (where the Word is) may have, yet they are nevertheless capable of receiving it. Such Gentiles as have lived in charity in the world, as they are wont to do, embrace and re- ceive the true faith or the faith of charity, much more readily than Christians, when they are instructed there- in by angels in another life." — Ibid. n. 932. See also n. 1032, 9256; A. E. n. 1 180; D. P. 330. It is as true of Pagan as of Christian nations, that they have more truth than they are careful to obey. In every nation upon earth men's beliefs are better than their practice. The religious code of Pagans as well as of Christians is far better than the general character of the people. He who walks according to the light- vouchsafed him, does all that the Lord requires of him. No one can be held accountable for disobeying truth of which he is ignorant, especially if his ignorance be no fault of his. Therefore a wrong which a man does 16* HEAVEN REVEALED. ignorantly, is not a sin. Sin implies a knowledge of the law transgressed. It consists in disobedience to known and acknowledged truth. If we ignorantly trans- gress, we feel very different from what we should if we did the same act with a full knowledge at the time that we were violating a divine law. Is it reasonable, then, that those born in Pagan lands should be forever doomed to darkness and woe, because of their non- obedience to truth which they never heard of? No: God is a Being infinitely wise and just. And all that such a Being can require of individuals or na- tions, be they Jews, Mahometans, Pagans or Christians, is, that the)' live according to the light they have. And all who do so live, will finally be received into heaven ; for by their religious obedience to the few truths they know the\- are prepared to receive more and purer truths in the world of spirits. Such, briefly, is the doctrine revealed through Swe- denborg on this subject; a doctrine that full)' accords with our highest conception of the Divine character and attributes, as well as with the dictates of reason and common sense. And not less clearly does the doctrine agree with the teachings as well as with the entire spirit of Holy Scrip- ture. The Word of God simply requires us to walk according to the light that is given. "While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light," saith the Lord (John xii. 36). And we really believe in the light, only when we walk according to it (H. HL 351 ; A. C 4239 ; A. R; 67 ; A. E. 346). " Walk while ye have the light." Those to whom the light of the Gospel has not come, cannot wall it, and ,uc not, therefore, to be judged by it For what it that brings, or on whom is pronounced, the condemnation? The Lord answers: "This is the ndemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their I vil." (John iii. 19.) From which it is plain that there can be no condemnation where the light has not ne; for condemnation consists in a rejection of the Kght when offered. Neither is sin imputed to th< who err through ignorance; for the Lord further says: M If I had not come and spoken unto them, tliey had not had sin." (John xv. 22.) And that, in the day of final adjudication every one will be held accountable for only that measure of truth which has been vouchsafed him, is plain from these words of the Lord: "And that ser- vant who knew his Lord's will, and prepared not, nei- ther did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required; and to whom men have committed much, of him will they ask the more." (Luke xii. 47, 48.) Equally conclusive, too, is the apostle's testimony, and clearly teaching the very same doctrine: " Of a truth," he says, "I perceive that God is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that feareth Him and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him." (Acts x. 34, 35.) Which is virtually saying that there are some righteous and God-fearing people in every nation, and that all such will be saved. I 88 ///-'. / / r EN RE l 'BALED, And so we find the teaching of the Bible to agree with that of Swedenborg on this subject; and the tes- timony of both to be in complete accord with the whole spirit of the Christian religion as well as with the verdict of enlightened reason. And not only docs Swedenborg teach that the hea- then may be saved, but he says that more of them act- ually ate saved than of those who profess the Chris- tian religion; and he tells us why. 11 It is a very common thing with those who have conceived an opinion respecting any truth of faith, to judge of others that the)' cannot be saved but by believ- ing as they i\o y which nevertheless the Lord forbids, Matt. vii. I, 2. Accordingly it has been made known to me by much experience that persons of every re- ligion are saved, if so be, by a life of charity, they have received remains of good and of apparent truth. . . The life of charity consists in man's thinking well of others, and desiring good to others, and perceiving joy in him- self at the salvation of others. But the}' have not the life of charity, who are not willing that any should be saved but such as believe as they themselves do, and especial!}' if they are indignant that it should be other- wise. This may appear from this single circumstance, that more are saved from the Gentiles than from among the Christians; for such of the Gentiles as have thought well of their neighbor, and lived in good-will to him, receive the truths of faith in another life better than they who are called Christians, and acknowledge the Lord more gladly than Christians do; for nothing is more delightful and happy to the angels, than to in- struct those who come from earth into another life." — A. ( '. n. 2284 ; also, 1059. This, we doubt not, will have a strange sound to the A HI i | ears of many w ho have \ lucated in the old theol- ] who hear it now for th time. But is it not both reasonable and Scriptural? Does it not ac- cord with these words of the Lord? "And I say unto i that many shall come from th I and west, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, Bui the children of the king- be cast out into the outer darkness." (Matt, viii. II, 12. S also Luke xiii 24-31.) By"thechil- u of the kingdom " are plainly meant those who have the Word, and who imagine (as did the Jews) that, for this reason alone, they would be saved in preference to those who have it not (as in the case of the Gentile and who have not therefore eaten and drunk in the Lord's presence, nor heard his voice in their streets. And by the " many " who would come from the four quarters and find a welcome, while "the children of the kingdom " would be thrust into the outer darkness, are as plainly meant the Gentiles — the non-Christian peo- ples who have not the written Word. And not only does Swedenborg teach that fewer are saved from among Christians than from among the Gen- tiles, but that the worst of all the devils in hell are from the Christian nations. "This I can aver," he says, " that they who come into the other life from the Christian world, are the worst of all, hating their neighbor, hating the faith, and denying the Lord ; for in the other life the heart speaks, and not the lips merely. Besides, they are more given to adultery than the rest of mankind." — A. C. 1885 ; also 1032. But while the worst of the devils go from Christian 1 90 HE . I J '/■: N R /■ I '/■: . 1 1 E A countries, so likewise do the best of the angels. Those from among Christians who go to heaven, rise to a higher state than do the good from among Gentil while those who are lost sink to a deeper hell. H< can it he otherwise ? For Christians, being in p< n of the Word, have a greater amount of truth than the Gentiles, and truth of a higher order and a purer quality. And the higher and purer the truth, the higher the state to which those will rise who receive and live according to it. The truths of the Christian religion are deeper and more heart-searching than those of any other religion. Therefore strict obedience to these truths must bring the richest reward — must develop the highest and noblest life. And on the other hand they who know but disobey these truths, commit greater sin than those can who are ignorant of them. They sin against greater light. They become more wicked; therefore they sink to a deeper hell, — are beaten with more stripes. This is in accordance with the universal law, that the better a thing is, the worse are the conse- quences resulting from its abuse. What Swedenborg says, therefore, about the worst of the devils being from Christian countries, is altogether reasonable. His statement on this point, too, is corroborated by well-established historical facts. For it is matter of his- tory that scenes of the most dismal horror which the sun ever shone upon, have been enacted in Christian lands ; that the blackest crimes which the page of his- tory records, have been perpetrated within the bounds of Christendom. ( "an there be any doubt, then, that the very worst spirits in the other world, are from Christian lands ? HEAVEN FOR GENTIL1 \g\ Such is the doctrine revealed thi concerning the state of the Heathen in the great Il< -very different, we see, from that hitherto believed and taught in the Christian church. A doctrine truly tholic in its spirit, wholesome in its tendency, bound- less as God's love in its embrace, and in compl ment with Holy Scripture and enlightened reason. It arcs us that the Lord has left none of his intelligent creatures without sufficient light, if they follow it, to guide them to the realms of bliss. It declares that people oi every nation and creed, be they civilized or barbarous, may be saved and are saved SO far as they live according to the truths they know; and, further- more, that the worst of all the devils in hell are from Christian countries; and that those who live under the noonday light of the Gospel, may be lost and are lost if they walk not according to that light. Thus the new doctrine affirms this momentous truth — a truth often reiterated in the writings of the great seer, and which deserves to be engraven indelibly on every heart — that entrance into the kingdom of heaven de- pends not upon what people know, but upon how they live; not upon the character or amount of the truth they believe, but upon the motive and measure of their obedience to its requirements ; not upon the brilliancy of the light that illumines their pathway, but upon their fidelity and sincerity in following the light. Therefore 11 while ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light," saith the Lord. And the only genuine and saving belief, is that which avails to the renovation of the heart and life ; for " with the heart 1 92 HEA I EN RE I '/■:. I L /■:/). man believeth unto righteousness." And Swedenborg often says that a genuine belief, or belief in the Lord, involves obedience to the Divine precepts, and can have no existence without it. To cite a single passage: " By believing in the Lord, man has conjunction with Him, and by conjunction, salvation. To believe in Him, is to have confidence that He will save; and because no one can have such confidence but lie who leads a good therefore this also is meant by believing in Him." — A. R. 67. See also T. C. R. n. 151 ; A. C. 896, 9239; A. K. 349. XV. ARE EARTHLY RELATIONSHIPS COXTIXUED IX in-:. 1 1 r ENt HAVING ascertained the law that determines all associations in the Hereafter, an interesting ques- tion arises: Are the ties of natural consanguinity con- tinued in heaven ? In other words, Will those who have sustained on earth the relation of parents and children, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, dwell together (supposing they all become regenerate) in the same an- gelic society, and maintain a similar relation toward each other in heaven to that they bore on earth? Or will these natural relationships cease with the death of the body, and new relationships take their place? There is something surpassingly beautiful — some- thing, indeed, holy — in the ties that bind kindred and friends together on earth. Every one recognizes the I I I mty and sacredn I The links in tli.it chain of love formed by the members of a h how g ind precious! The ; <>n between broth- ers and sisters, how cordial and sincere! The love of children for their parent-, how sweet and confiding! The love oi parents for their children, how deep and tend; Th tion between husband and wife, how beautiful and holy ! These natural relationships image more faithfully than anything else can, the higher and enduring spiritual re- lationships which exist in heaven. The relation of the children to each other, affords the truest type of the fra- ternal relation existing between the members of an an- gelic society. The relation of children to their parents — their affection for them, their dependence upon them, and their obedience to the parents' every wish and word — furnishes the best idea of the relation of the angels to the Lord, of their affection for, their dependence upon, and their obedience to, the Heavenly Father. The rela- tion of the parents to the children — their tender love and ceaseless care for them, their consideration for their weakness, their patience with their faults, and their thoughtful provision for all their wants, what a beautiful image is this of the relation of the Lord to the angels, of his infinite love and ceaseless care for them, and his bountiful provision for all their wants ! Thus does a loving, well-ordered and happy family furnish the truest picture of heaven, of anything known on earth. Such a family is itself a heaven in miniature. Accordingly we find that, in the written Word (which, in its true sense, treats altogether of spiritual things) the 17 N //. / REVEALED. which arc employed in all languages to express the most intimate and tender earthly relationships, are d to express the relationships existing in heaven, and among heavenly-minded people on earth. Thus God, in pect to the inmost, paternal, heaven-begetting prin- ciple of his nature - I )ivine Love — is called the I leavenly Father, And in his relation to the church, or to those whose hearts have become wedded to Him by love and obedience, I Ie is called Bridegroom and I [usband. And those thus wedded (which is the case with all who have in themselves the heavenly marriage of good and truth) are called Mother, Wife and Bride. And the angels and regenerate men — all who are born of this heavenly Fa- ther and Mother, that is, born again, " born from above" — are called children. They are God's children, begotten of Him in liis own image and likeness; and viewed in their relation to each other, they are brethren, and are so called in Scripture. Thus Jesus says to his disciples: 44 One is your Father — God; and all ye are brethren." I [ere, as in other passages of Scripture, we are taught that there are spiritual relationships to which the natural correspond, and of which they are the representative image. And as spiritual things are superior to the natural whereby they are shadowed forth, — the spiritual ise of the Word superior to the natural sense, — the spiritual world superior to the natural world, — the soul or spirit of man superior to the body, — therefore spiritual relationships are, and must needs be, superior to the natural. They are more interior, more enduring, more perfect and blissful. Now, when the natural body dies, man passes (in a Cl THl V RELATIONSHIP spiritual body) out of I tl, and into the spiritual realm, He leaves behind him all natural thing . what is equivalent he passes in( 'in where these th t no 1 n or thought o£ He leaves the natural body; but straightway finds himself in the enjoym superior faculties b i superior kind of body, which has always been within the natural — a body that IS spiritual ami substantial, lie leaves the natural world; but immediately enters, or lias opened up to his consciousness/ another world in which all things arc more real ami substantial, but spir- itual in their nature. He leaves the natural or literal sense of the Scripture, that is, he no longer sees or thinks of this sense ; but he conies into the perception and un- derstanding of a vastly higher and more important sense, viz., the spiritual. He leaves the natural memory, that is, the memory of merely natural facts, — or, what is the same, this memory becomes quiescent; but a new, more interior and enduring memory is then developed, viz., the spiritual. Now the logical inference from all this is, that natural relationships terminate when the body dies, and new and higher relationships are then established ; and that these new relationships rest upon higher or more interior ground, and are determined by people's spiritual resem- blance or proximity to each other. The members of the same family on earth are said to be closely related ; and the\- are so naturally. But this is simply a flesh and blood relationship — often nothing more ; and as such, we should expect it to cease when the body dies. For members of the same family are often quite different in 196 heaven revealed. character. Some arc passionate and others calm, some bright and others dull, some deceitful and others frank — born, too, of the same parents, and subjected to the same nurture and discipline. Naturally, therefore, they are as near akin as they can be, and in their faces they may resemble each other. But spiritually viewed, there is little or no resemblance between them ; they are wholly unlike, and have no moral or spiritual affinity. And in view of the law that governs in every association of spirits, it is plain that they would have no desire to dwell together in the spiritual world. Their spheres would be mutually repulsive, and their society mutually disagree- able. The conclusion, therefore, seems irresistible, that the natural relationships of this world will not be continued in the world beyond; but that new relationships based upon interior and spiritual resemblances, will be estab- lished there. The legitimate deductions of reason bring US to this conclusion. Now let us see how far Sweden- borg's disclosures accord with these deductions. u Consociations in the other life arc comparative!}' like relationships on earth, in that there is an acknowledg- ment as of parents, children, brethren, kinsfolk and con- nections; according to such differences is their love. The differences are indefinite, and the communicative perceptions so exquisite as to admit of no description, — no respect whatever being had to parents, children, kinsfolk, and connections on earth, nor to any personal considerations of quality or character, consequently not to dignities, riches, and the like, but only to the differ- ences of mutual love and faith, the faculty of receiving which each had obtained from the Lord during his abode in the world.' —A. C. n. 685. "That the truths of the church are called brethren, is manifest from this, that the sons of Jacob re] the truths of the church in the complex. That in ai tinu-s they v died brethren from spiritual affinity, is because the new birth or regeneration made consan- guinities and affinities in a degree superior to the natural birth; and because the former derive their origin from Father, namely, from the Lord. Hence it is, that men after death who come into heaven, do not any Ion acknowledge any brother, nor even mother or father, ex- cept from good and truth ; according to these they enter there into new fraternities or brotherhoods. Hence it that they who were of the church called each other brethren."— A. C. n. 675 8. "That in the spiritual world or heaven, there are no other consanguinities and affinities, except of love to the Lord and neighborly love, or, what is the same thing, of od, was made manifest to me from this consideration: that all the societies which constitute heaven and which are innumerable, are most distinct from each other, ac- cording to the degrees and differences of love and of faith thence derived; also from this circumstance, that they mutually know each other, not from any affinity which had existed in the life of the body, but solely from a principle of good and truth thence derived. A father does not know a son or a daughter, nor a brother a brother or sister, nor indeed a husband a wife, unless they have been principled in like good. They meet, in- deed, on their first coming into another life, but they are soon dissociated, inasmuch as essential good, or love and charity, determines every one to his particular society and enrolls him in it. In the society in which every one is enrolled, consanguinity commences ; and thence pro- ceed affinities even to the circumferential parts." — Ibid. n. 3815. 11 In another life, all are consociated according to affec- 17* 198 heaven revealed. tions, and they who are consociated constitute a brother- hood ; not that they call themselves brethren, but that they are brethren by conjunction. Essential good and truth in another life make what is called on earth con- sanguinity and relationship; wherefore they correspond. For goods and truths considered in themselves do not acknowledge any other father but the Lord, for they are from Him alone. Hence all are in brotherhood who are in goods and truths. Nevertheless there are degrees ac- cording to the quality of goods and truths. These de- grees are signified in the Word by brethren, sisters, sons- in-law, daughters-in-law, grandsons, granddaughters, and by several names of families. On earth, however, they are so named in respect to common parents, however they differ in affections ; but in another life such brother- hood and relationship is dissipated, and they all come into other brotherhoods, unless on earth they have been in similar good. At first, indeed, they generally meet, but in a short time are disjoined; for gain in that life does not consociate, but, as was said, affection, the quality of which then appears as in clear day." — A. C. n. 41 21. Here as elsewhere it will be seen that Swedenborg is perfectly consistent. And his revealings accord, too, with the verdict of enlightened reason and sound phi- losophy. Had he told anything essentially different, its want of agreement with his other teachings, as well as with reason and philosophy, would have been at once apparent. It also would have lacked — what it now clearly has — the undeniable support of Scripture. For the Bible tells of other and higher relationships than those of flesh and blood. It declares that before a man can enter the kingdom of heaven, he must be born again — " not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God " — thus clearly teaching us that CESSATION 01 .'/// V RELA there is a higher and nobler kind of birth than thai into the realm oi' nature. The first birth is natural, th oiul is spiritual. "Howbeit," says the apostle, " that was nol first which is spiritual, but that which is natu- ral ; and afterward that which is spiritual." (I Cor. \\\ That which is first in the order of importance, is al- ways last in the order of time. The fruit conies after and never before the flower. The development o( the heavenly is always subsequent to that of the earthly or corporeal life. The angel is formed out of, and there- fore subsequent to, the man. Consequently those rela- tionships which are spiritual in their nature, or which result from regeneration, must be superior to those re- sulting from natural generation. They must be akin to the relationships existing in heaven. Accordingly the Lord desires that we shall all become his children — children of the Heavenly Father — his spiritual children, of course. And He tells us how we can become such, or what we must do ; and among other things, that we must be willing, if need be, to sunder the ties of natural kindred, — be willing to forsake father, mother, brothers, sisters, wife, children, and whatsoever is dearest to the natural man, for his sake. He counsels his disciples to call no man their father upon earth; adding: "for One is your Father which is in heaven; and all ye are breth- ren." And at another time, " stretching forth his hand toward his disciples, He said: Behold my mother and my brethren ! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother and sister and mother." (Matt. xii. 49, 50.) 200 HEAVEN REVEALED. Who cannot see that in all such passages it is a spir- itual relationship to which our Lord refers? — a relation- ship resulting from the new spiritual birth, and grounded in spiritual faith and love? Such is the only kind of relationship (and this should be conclusive of the whole question) which lie ever recognizes as belonging to his kingdom in the heavens. And what other relationship should we expect — what other, indeed, can there be — in a kingdom that is purely spiritual? XVI. MEETING AND RECOGNITION OF FRIENDS IN Till- HEREAFTER. IN view of what has been said in the foregoing chap- ter, questions like the following will naturally arise: Shall we not, then, meet our earthly friends in the spiritual world? Shall we not recognize them and be recognized by them in return ? Will not the mother meet her darling child, and know and love it as her own ? Will not husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, meet there in tender and loving embrace, and remember and renew the relation they sustained in the natural world? Is not the desire for such reunions in the Hereafter, among the implanted instincts of our na- ture ? And in seasons of sore bereavement do we not derive support and solace from the belief that this natu- ral and deep desire of our hearts will be granted? Most assuredly. And there is no reason to doubt 201 that it will be granted. Every implanted instinct of our nature will have its demands satisfied in the spirit- ual world. Every one will, th •, be permitted to and recognize the friends he has known and lo\ on earth, and to remain in their company so long as may be mutually agreeable. Bui such meeting and mu- tual recognition in the Hereafter, take place in the in- termediate stale or world of spirits, where all souls immediately after the death of the body. This is neither heaven nor hell, but a realm or state between the tv like the world in which we are now living, and having communication with both. This is the realm or state in which they find themselves immediately after leaving the body, for bodily death effects no change whatever in the character. They are, when they first awake to consciousness, in a state precisely similar to that in which they were before death. The same external thoughts or affections; the same natural or external memory, the same natural desires and feelings are still alive and active. Hence the reason why everything on a person's entrance into the other world, appears there precisely as it did here ; for in that w r orld everything without corresponds to the individual's own state — to the thoughts and feelings within him. So long, there- fore, as he continues in the same external state in which he was before death, will he see around him objects similar to those by which he was surrounded on earth, — so similar, indeed, that it is often hard for a person to be quickly convinced that he has actually passed through the gate of death. And he will have precisely the same face as before; for the face in the other world 202 HEAVEN l//-J\ corresponds to the mental state, or to the thoughts and affections that are present and active. It is in the world of spirits, therefore, where all are in the same mental state in which they were when on earth, and therefore look just the same, that friends and natural relatives meet and converse, and share each other's society so long as their intercourse proves mu- tually agreeable. If some have died many years before, and gone to their fined home, either in the upper or the nether realms according as their real character may have been heavenly or infernal, they are, through the Divine mercy, temporarily remitted into the world of spirits; that is, they are brought into the same state of exterior memory, thought and affection in which they were when in the flesh; consequent!}' their faces appear just the same as they did in this world. In this state of their exteriors it may be mutually agreeable to re- main in each other's company for a considerable time. But if they are spiritually and internally unlike, the dis- similarity will shortly reveal itself, and they will not long be happy in each other's society. As the interiors of each become more and more manifest to the other, they will feel a mutual repulsion, and will desire to sep- arate. And when they shall have come fully into the state of their interiors, the quality of which determines the kind of society they are fitted for, then whatever disagrees with their ruling loves is removed from their exteriors; their external memory which enabled them when on earth to recall their relationship and all be- longing to it, becomes closed or quiescent; and their faces take on an expression corresponding to the char- THE HEREAFTi 203 acter of their in And when their int< 1 ful: 1 >pen, if their chai are different, they will not only be disinclined to remain t x, but will appear as strangers to each other. Their natural memory being lost or closed, they will no 1 mber their former friendship or relationship; nay, they will n^[ know that they have ever seen each other before, though they may have dwelt for years beneath the same roof, and sustained the most intimate of earth- ly relations. Their faces, too, will appear unfamiliar, being no longer such as they had been in the world, but so changed as to be the images of their ruling loves. In the intermediate state or world of spirits, therefore, where all, being still in externals, appear as they did on earth, friends and natural relatives meet and recognize each other, and remain together as long as they desire. But when their natural memory and affections have faded or become quiescent, and they have entered into the state of their interiors, then natural relatives cease to be remembered or thought of; and if their charac- ters are essentially unlike, they will no longer desire to remain together, having no affinity for each other. " Those who have friends and acquaintances in the life of the body, all meet and converse together in the world of spirits, when they desire it; especially wives and husbands, and also brothers and sisters. I have seen a father conversing with six sons whom he recognized ; and many others conversing with their relations and friends; but as their characters were dissimilar in con- sequence of their life in the world, after a short time they separated. But they who pass from the world o( spirits into heaven or hell, afterwards see each other no 204 HE A I '1: X RE i '/■- . i L £ J). more, nor do they know anything about each other, unless they are of similar disposition from similar lov They ch other in the world of spirits, and not in h iven nor in hell, because they who are in the world of spirits are brought into states similar to those which the>- had experienced in the life of the body, being led from one into another; but afterwards, all are brought into a permanent state similar to that of their ruling love; and in that state one knows another only from similitude of love; for similitude conjoins, and dissim- ilitude separates/ 1 — II. II. n. 427; see also A. R. 153. In accordance with what is here taught is the follow- ing, which tells us why those who have been closely related on earth, will ultimately be as strangers to each other in the world beyond, if there be no internal like- ness — no spiritual relationship between them. " When the spirit of man first enters the world of spirits, which takes place shortly after his resuscitation, he has a similar face and similar tone of voice to what he had in the world, because he is then in the state of his exteriors, and his interiors are not yet disclosed. This is the first state of man after death. But afterwards his face is changed and becomes entirely different, as- suming the likeness of his ruling affection or love in lich the interiors of his mind were in the world, and in which his spirit was in the body. ... I have seen some spirits shortly after their arrival from the world, and knew them by their face and speech ; but when I saw them afterwards, I did not know them. They who were prin- cipled in good affections appeared with beautiful laces, but they who were principled in evil affections, with faces deformed; for the spirit of man, viewed in itself, is noth- ing but his affection whereof the face is the external form. The reason also why the face is changed, is be- cause in the other life no one is allowed to counterfeit affections which ai properly hi quently, to put ^n looks which mtrary to hi love. All in the spiritual world, therefore, whoever tl may be, are brought into such a peak .is ti think, and to express by their faces and the in- clinations of their will. Hence ti f all b the forms and ima their a ns. And h ■ all who have kn< >wn each other in the world, kn :h other also in the world of spirits, but not in In a. nor in hell." — 1 1. 1 1, n. 457. It must not be inferred, however, from what has I, 1, that natural relationships are necessarily incom- patible with spiritual; or that those who have hern closely related on earth, cannot also be internally re- lated, and so dwell together forever. On the contrary, we are taught that those who have been near and dear to each other in the flesh — members of the same family on earth — may, if they become regenerated, become Still nearer and dearer to each other in heaven, and for- •r dwell together in the same angelic society. We are taught that marriages may take place in this world upon a deep spiritual ground — that is, between parties who are the spiritual complements of each other. Where this is the case, the union is a truly conjugial one — is at once both spiritual and natural. And because it is a union of souls as well as of bodies, therefore the death of the body will not dissolve it. They will remain uni- ted forever, being the complements of each other. And their union in heaven will be more full and complete, I attended with delights as far superior to those that accompany marriage here below, as heaven is superior to earth or angels superior to men. This, however, 18 206 HEA I EN RE J EA L ED. only when there is a union of souls between the parties. If the union is merely external, and the two have no spiritual affinity, it will not be renewed or continued in the I Iereafter. The same remarks are applicable to other earthly re- lationships. The)' may be, and sometimes are, continued in heaven, with their pleasures refined, their joys exalted, and their delights immensely increased. This, too, is what the great seer teaches. 4< Certain souls," he says, " who were with me [on one occasion], were let into a state of innocence, from which they conversed with me through spirits ; and they con- fessed that it was a state of such joy and gladness that the human understanding could form no conception of it, for it was their very inmosts which were affected. . . The)' were with those who had been their parents, grand- parents, and ancestors, that is, with their entire family for two centuries back. They were admitted together with them into that heaven, and their joy was such as cannot possibly be described." — Spl. D. 832, '4. Such is Swcdenborg's teaching concerning the meet- ing and recognition of friends in the Hereafter, and the continuance or cessation of natural relationships. Docs it sound like the ravings of a madman or the utterances of a fanatic? Stretch your imagination to the utmost, and see if you can conceive of any different view that is at once so rational, philosophical, and scriptural as this. The doctrine here disclosed is one that fully meets the demands of our reason as well as of our God-im- planted desires and instincts. It satisfies the cravings of even the strongest natural affection. It permits the W the hi:: ir husfa i indulge the fond hope of ting in the Hereafter th ved companion ►re. It gives to all who are bound by the ties of natural C aity, the comfort!:' aice that when death snatches from their embrace son irly loved one — a parent, child, brother, sister, husband, or wife — the separation will be but for a h ; — that they may confidently rely on a blissful reunion in the spiritual realm. What solace there is in such assurance! What balm to bereaved affection! What support in seasons of dee; rrow ! And while the doctrine deals so tenderly with the natural affections, while it ministers all the comfort which the heart is capable of receiving in times of sore bereavement, it at the same time discloses a more ex- alted and heavenly state of affection than the natural, and a higher and holier relationship than that between members of the same family on earth. It teaches that the truest and holiest brotherhood, that of which the natural is but a faint image, exists between those who have been " born from above" — " born of the Spirit" — and have become children of the Heavenly Father. It teaches that natural relationships cease in the spiritual realm, and are succeeded by higher and holier relation- ships ; that natural kindred, when they come fully into the state of their interiors, will (if they are spiritually far asunder) no longer see or know each other, and will lose all remembrance of their earthly relationship. It thus furnishes a rational and philosophical solution of a problem that has hitherto embarrassed theologians, and been a trouble to many pious minds. For it shows us that 208 HEAVEN REVEALED. those who enter heaven will never have their peace dis- turbed by the harrowing thought that some of their near kindred in the flesh are in the nether realms; for al- though this may be true, they will know nothing of it, having no recollection of their natural kindred. And if their states are very unlike, they would not recognize them should they see them. Their voices would sound unfamiliar, and their faces would be as the faces of strangers. Though kindred in the flesh, they are kin- dred no longer; for the flesh and all its belongings have been laid aside. Thus does the spiritual in all things transcend the natural. Thus do the tenderest earthly relationships, having fulfilled their appointed use on earth, fade and die out from the memory and the affections in the great Hereafter; and in their stead spring up those higher and nobler spiritual relationships, determined not by the accident of natural birth, but by the new birth from Above, and the consequent proximity or likeness to the ] leavenly Father. Such is the doctrine as revealed for the New Church on this subject. While it accords with the spirit of holy Scripture and with all we know of the Divine character and attributes, it agrees also with the highest spiritual philosophy, and satisfies the sternest demands of the understanding and the intensest longings of the heart. PERSONAL APPEARAND THE ANGELS. XVII. 70NAL APPEARANCE OF THE ANGELS. WIIKN a traveler \n a foreign land writes an ac- count of his travels, he is expected to describe the persona] appearance of the people he visits, as well their character, manners and customs. Without such description his narrative would be incomplete and un- ictory. So natural, indeed, is it for people to in- quire about the personal appearance of those whom they know only from the lips or pen of another, that a novelist would never think of dismissing one of his heroes with- out gratifying his readers on this point. If he should, they would be disappointed, and would not fail to note the omission as a conspicuous defect in the story. Now, Swedenborg professes to have enjoyed open in- tercourse with the denizens of the spiritual world for a period of nearly thirty years. He claims to have daily seen and conversed with both angels and devils during this long period. If this is true, we should expect him to say something about the personal appearance of the people he saw there — to tell us how they look, whether beautiful or ugly. And this he has not failed to do. He says that the inhabitants of heaven are all in the human form, and beautiful beyond the power of language to de- scribe. And he has told us why they are so beautiful. Their figures and faces, he says, are the very images of the spirit that animates and moulds them. They are the correspondential forms of their elevated thoughts, sweet affections and noble purposes. For Mind is the con- 18- O 2 1 o ///•;. / / 7-X RE I r EA L J.J\ troling power throughout the universe; and so entire and absolute is its sway in the spiritual world, that the minds of all, both in heaven and in hell, mould their bodies into forms exactly correspondent to their essentia] nature. The face of every one there, is the image of the spirit within him. The appearance of the outer proclaims with undeviating certainty the character of the inner man ; for there the body and the soul are in such perfect correspondence that the former is the exact image of the latter. We will cite the seer's own language on this sub- ject : "The human form of every man after deatli is the more beautiful, the more interiorly he had loved divine truths and lived according to them ; for the interiors of every one arc opened and formed according to his love and life ; wherefore the more interior is the affection, the more conformable it is to heaven, and hence the more beautiful is the face. . . . All perfection increases toward the interiors, and decreases toward the exteriors; and as perfection increases and decreases, so likewise does beaut\'. I have seen the faces of angels of the third heaven, which were so beautiful that no painter, with all his art, could ever impart to colors such animation as to equal a thousandth part of the brightness and life which appeared in their faces." — II. H. n. 459. 44 Beauty derived only from the truth of faith, is like the beauty of a painted or sculptured face; but the beauty derived from the affection of truth which is from good, is like the beauty of a living face animated by celestial love ; for such as is the quality of the love, or of the affection beaming from the form of the face, such is the beaut}-. I fence it is that the angels appear of in- effable beauty. From their faces beams forth the good of love by the truth of faith, which not only appears / S. 2 I I fore the sight, but is also perceived by the sphei • derived. The reason why this is the source and origin of beauty is, that the universal heaven is a Grand Man, and iponds to all even the most minute thin appertaining t^man. He, therefore, who is principled in the good of love and thence in the truth of faith, is m the form of heaven, consequently in the beauty in which iven is, where the Divine of the Lord is all in all. Hence also it is, that those who are in hell, since they are contrary to good and truth, are in horrible deformity, and in the light o\ heaven they appear not as men but as monsters." — A. C. n. 5199. 11 The understanding of man is nothing else but the will unfolded and formed, so that its quality may appear visibly. I Icnce it is evident whence beauty is, , of the interior man, that it is from the good of the will by the truth of faith. The truth of faith itself pre- sents beauty in the external form, but the good of the will sets it in and forms it. Hence it is that the angels of heaven are of ineffable beauty, for they are as it were loves and charities in form ; wherefore when they appear in their beauty, they affect the inmost principles. With them the good of love from the Lord shines forth through the truth of faith, and as it penetrates it affects." — Ibid. n. 49S5 ; also n. 3212. " When the angels present themselves visible, all their interior affections appear clearly from the face, and thence shine forth, so that the, face is their external form and representative image. To have any other face than that of their respective affections, is not allowed to any in heaven. They who feign any other face, are cast out from the society. Hence it is manifest that the face cor- responds to all the interiors in general, both to the affec- tions and the thoughts thereof, or to those things which are of the will and understanding with man. Hence also in the Word by face and faces are signified the af- fections." — Ibid. n. 4796. 2 I 2 HEA J EN RE I '/■:. 1 1- ED. u Evil spirits may also be known from their faces, for all their lusts or evil affections are inscribed on their . and it may likewise be known from their faces with what hells they communicate ; for there are very many hells all distinct according to the genera and species of the lusts of evil. In general their faces, when seen in the light of heaven, are almost without life, being ghastly like those of dead bodies, in some cases black, and in -nine monstrous ; for they are the forms of hatred, cruelty, deceit and hypocrisy; but in their own light among themselves, the)- appear otherwise from fantasy." — A. C. n. 4798. Many more passages similar to these might be cited ; and however the phraseology or form of expression may vary, their substance will be found invariably the same. And here, as on other subjects, the seer's assertions address themselves to our rational intuitions, and meet with a ready response from every enlightened and un- prejudiced mind. For every one sees that, if the char- acter of the angels is as pure and exalted as he tells us it is, their personal appearance cannot be other than he has so often described it. If their interiors are purer, their souls more beautiful, than those of men — if they are wiser, nobler, more loving and unselfish, then we should expect them to be more beautiful in form and aspect. This is so reasonable that a child sees the utter absurdity of any doctrine essentially different. For a child sees that it is impossible for such exalted human excellence as that to which the angels have attained, to exist under hideous and repulsive forms; and it has an equally clear and instinctive perception that these latter are the appropriate forms of wicked spirits or demons. \RANCR OF THE ANG1 I v 2IJ rc phy tsto som out kn ; it ; for every one forms some idea of tl ch.i of others from the features and expression of And the idea they form would seldom fail of 1 it not that people often ad the hypocrite, and make their laces lie as th their lips and actions. And what is thought to constitute the most exal human beauty here on earth? What sort of a face do people of high culture and a truly Christian spirit com- monly regard as most beautiful ? Is it not that combi- nation of features and that expression which reveals the most and the highest order of mind? — that which ex- presses the noblest qualities of heart in union the most exalted powers of intellect? — that which seems in the highest degree instinct with the divine attributes of wis- dom and love ? To a cultivated mind that face, and that only, is beautiful, which reveals a beautiful soul ; and it is beautiful just in the degree that it expresses the thoughts, feelings, aspirations and hopes of such a soul. A per- son's face speaks as plainly as his lips, and often more truthfully. For many a time does the face reveal thoughts and feelings which the lips vainly strive to conceal. The looks often contradict the words. And if the graces of heaven — humility, meekness, resignation, courage, be- nevolence, gratitude, hope, love, trust — really dwell in the heart, they will to some extent reveal themselves in the countenance even in this world. And those who have any just appreciation of the spirit of true religion, will call that countenance most beautiful which expresses the largest measure of these heavenly graces. 1 1 WEN REVl I l.h Ik \\ is the quality of the spiritual and invisible part, then — the peculiar characteristics of mind and heart which the fac that makes all the difference among pic on earth in respect to beauty. And among culti- vated Christian people that face will always be thought most beautiful, which expresses most of the higher and nobler qualities of humanity. There is no beauty in the human countenance apart from the mental beauty — the lofty thoughts, the sweet affections, the tender sympathies, the noble purpose which it reveals. This is confessed byall the great masters in literature. Thus Milton says of Adam and Eve while in their primitive innoeence: " For in their ]<><,ks divine The in, ige <>l their glorious Maker shone, Truth, wisdom, sanctitud eand pure." And Spenser, with the insight of a true poet, and clearly recognizing the influence of the soul upon the body even to the extent disclosed in Swedenborg's pneumatology^ sings Every spirit, as it is most pure, And hath in it the more of heavenly Light, ■ it the fairer body doth procure '1'.. lial.it in : FoT of the soul the body form doth take, 1' >r soul is form and doth the body male And in a like strain sing Addison and Young, Shak- speare and Goethe, Byron and Coleridge, and all the great masters in this art. Every one knows, too, that a good artist is able to ex- press all the passions and emotions of the heart in the faces of the figures he paints or carves: and can express them with such precision that people of some discern- ment will rc.nl them the moment they look at the picture or Ask any dist ilptor to embody in n well-defined mental or moral qualities, and he will do it with of human nature will read in that bust the veryqualit isily as if th c print in a impossible but for the ind- ent , between th ind the pa mo- tions of the heart ; — a spondence that where no willful deception is pi the mer may be taken as the of the latter. Then look at the faces of little children— those young immortals so guileless and innocent, so late from their Maker's hand, with the impress of heaven so fresh upon them — and how legibly can you see recorded there the feelings of their hearts! How unmistakably do their laughing faces tell of the exuberant life, the overflowing joy and gladness within their little bosoms ! And when they experience disappointment, sorrow, vexation or shame, how faithfully are these emotions imprinted on their faces, and how quickly, too ! And the same is true of adults in the degree that they have retained the inno- cence and simplicity of childhood, or become as little children by regeneration. When joy and gladness fill their hearts, their faces-are sure to reveal the fact. The sunshine within streams out from their eyes, and sheds its radiance over the whole countenance. Again, when sorrow comes, when cares oppress and fears disturb and gloomy thoughts becloud the soul, their faces proclaim this inward change as clearly as the moving shadow on 2l6 HEAVEN REVEALl the land proclaims the floating cloud between it and the sun. This, indeed, is true try one to some extent. It is only with those who have lost the sim- plicity of childhood, and learned to practice the arts of deception! that the face c a true index of the mind; — fails to reveal by its changes the sunshine or gloom, the joy Or sorrow, the peace or unrest that exists within. An If I the I . ■ and they who are ruled by it. are in a sinful state, and have no conception of the Lord's] >ve, His there- e hid from them. Again the Psalmist " Thy Lord, will I seek." We seek the Lord 1 when, through obedience to the laws of the h< avenly life wh 1 [e ha tied, \\ n our hearts to the reception his i »\\ n life, that is, his unselfish love. Again : " B is the people that know the joyful sound ; they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenan The light of the Lord's countenance is the light of truth proceeding from his divine love, as light proceeds from and is the visible manifestation of heat in the natural world. And hundreds of similar illustrations from Scripture might be added ; all of which go to show the intimate connection of the spiritual sense of the Word, with the facts, phenomena and laws of the spiritual world ; and how a knowledge of these latter may help us in the right understanding and interpretation of the former. What, now, is the practical lesson to be drawn from the subject as here presented ? It may be seen from what has been said, that beauty is the mark which God has set on goodness. The ex- ternal beauty of the angels is but the type, or correspon- dential form, of their beautiful souls. Their pure and unselfish love exerts a potent influence over their bodily organism, moulding every feature into a form of corre- sponding grace and loveliness. Yes: it is love — love from the Lord, and therefore kindred to his own — that makes their faces so lovely. And this angelic beauty 220 HEAVEN REVEALED. we arc all made capable of attaining in some measure. But the only way of attaining it, is by strict and religious obedience to the revealed laws of the angelic life, — pre- cisely as bodily health and vigor are attained and pre- served by strict conformity to the laws of health. En- couraging and strengthening by exercise the growth of angelic dispositions, is the sure way of ultimately attain- ing to angelic beauty. Our bodies in the Hereafter will be just what we, by our volitions and conduct here, choose to make them — moulded into forms exactly correspond- ent to the dispositions we cherish and the feelings we habitually indulge — perfect images of our ruling loves: beautiful and symmetrical if we are careful to strengthen and confirm the principles that beautify the soul, but ugly and deformed if we encourage the growth of the opposite principles. To conclude. It is a solemn and impressive fact, that within each of our material frames is a spiritual and im- mortal body, receiving its daily and hourly sustenance from the spiritual world; a be dy which lives and grows upon the food of angels, or the food of devils. And every year — yea, every day — this immortal body is ap- proximating the exquisite symmetry and grace ofheaven, or assuming more and more the hideous deformity of hell : and this, according to the prevailing tenor of our daily lives, — according to the dispositions we habitually cherish, and the motives from which we uniformly act. For here, in the flesh, our immortal part is daily and hourly taking on its enduring shape. Here it is con- tinually developing — every feature and lineament — in exact correspondence with the nature of the principles KI-'Jl we allow to n us ; that is, with the love that rei ur hearts, the central fire and moulding toivc of our immortal bein XVI 1 I. REJl 7 r ENESt EM E . I ND GROWTH IN «E 1 1 EN. WHOEVER thinks of existence in heaven as a reality, can hardly help asking, Do people grow old there as they do here on earth ? And is their age written on their faces, as it is on the faces of men ? And do those who leave this world far advanced in years, and who enter the society of the blessed, forever retain the withered form and furrowed cheeks which they had at the time they left this world ? There is really but one question involved in these interrogatories, and that is one concerning the age or apparent age of the denizens of heaven. Do they appear young or old ? What is Swedenborg's answer to this question ? Before adducing his testimony, we will consider how the question ougJit to be answered. What is the verdict of reason on the subject, and what the inevitable con- clusion to be drawn from the teaching of the last chap- ter ? If what has been said concerning the beauty of the angels is to be accepted as true, it follows that they do not grow old ; or, at least, that age does not plow such furrows in their faces as it does in the faces of men. For we all recognize something comparatively unbeautiful in 19* 2: 2 RE VEALED. tli (1 check, the lustr , and the furrowed hi old aye. The faces and forms of men and >men at ninety — however pure and innocent the lives they have led — would rarely be thought beautiful. They seldom — never, indeed — at that aye realize our highest ption of the human form. What, then, might we :t would be the appearance of those who have been in heaven thousands of years, if Time laid his palsying h tnd (n\ the bodies of angels as it docs on those ofir.cn? Why, they would be divested of every vestige of human comeliness. Their features and forms would hardly be recognized as human, so shriveled and wasted would they be. And if those who die at an advanced age and i to heaven, are forever to bear about them the same decrepid form and furrowed cheeks which marked their declining years on earth, then would it, indeed, be a calamity to live " to a good old age" on earth. Unless the aged saint is to lose in heaven his wrinkles and his decrepitude, and return to the vigor and freshness of his earlier years, who would wish to remain on earth beyond the age of twenty ?. What has been said, therefore, of the beauty of the angels, if true, is conclusive evidence that they do not apparently grow old in heaven ; and that the good who die at an advanced age, must there rejuvenate — must return to the beaut}' and buoyancy of their 4 ' golden prime." B( sides, in this world all the usual signs of old age, are so many signs of a decaying process — signs that corporeal dissolution has already commenced; for what is decay but a gradual dying? But there is no death in Vi n, consequently no decay. Therefore there can no deterioration there of any of the powers of bod) or of mind ; — no blunting of the senses, no \\ of the form, none of the visible signs which in this world pro- claim the coming on of decrepid old age. Moreover, time cannot properly be predicated of that which is spiritual ; consequently it cannot be predicated of the spiritual world, or of spiritual beings. We can- not say, nor even think, that God is old; nor that He is older now than lie was ten thousand years ago, or younger than I Ie will be ten thousand years hence. We cannot predicate age of love or wisdom or any of the Divine attributes. Nor can age be predicated of absolute Life. And God is the only absolute Life, and the infi- nite Fountain of life to angels and men. And Life itself is forever young and vigorous, forever fresh and new. And since the angels are continually becoming more and more perfect — continually being conjoined more closely with the Lord — continually receiving fresh increments of life from the One only Fountain of life, therefore they must be always advancing towards a state of ever-in- creasing vigor, bloom and beauty. Such is the undeniable testimony of reason on this subject. Such is the conclusion logically deduced from known and admitted truths, and from premises already established. And this is precisely what Swedenborg has reported from personal observation, after long and open intercourse with the heaven of angels. Let the follow- ing suffice for illustration : " Such as are principled in mutual love, are continually advancing in heaven to the spring-time of their youth; 224 AVEN REVEALED. and the more thoi: of years they pass, they attain to a more joyous and delightful spring ; and so continue on to eternity, with fresh increments of blessedness ac- cording to their respective proficiencies and gradations of mutual love, charity and faith. Those of the female X who had departed this life broken with the infirmities of old having lived in faith towards the Lord, in charity towards their neighbor, and in conjugial love with their husbands, after a succession of ages appear to advance towards the bloom of youth, with a beauty sur- passing all description ; for goodness and charity form their own image in such persons, and express their de- lights and beauties in every feature of their faces, inso- much that they become real forms of charity. Certain spirits that beheld them were astonished at the sight. Such is the form of charity, which in heaven is repre- sented to the life ; for it is charity that portrays it, and is portrayed in it, and that in a manner so expressive, that the whole angel, more particularly as to the face, appears as charity itself in a personal form of exquisite beaut}' affecting the soul of the spectator with something of the same grace ; by the beauty of that form, the truths of faith are exhibited in an image, and are also thereby rendered perceptible. Those who have lived in faith toward the Lord, that is, in a faith grounded in charity, become such forms or such beauties in another life. All the angels are such forms with an infinite variety; and of these heaven is composed." — A. C. n. 553. Every candid mind must admit that this is altogether reasonable. And not only so, but any different view would at once appear unreasonable. And the rejuve- nating process in the other world, though it may proceed more rapidly than the aging process in this, proceeds according to a law no less fixed or intelligible. The Divine wisdom and beneficence are alike reflected in both WE v. pr< \ t and the onabl* i former arly discernible as thai of the latl r. rhe spiritual j mism being perfectly pi the influent life, that life becomes sweeter and richer, and its influx m copious, the inevitable result must I 'rowing per- tion of the human form, and a steady in* of hu- man beauty. Another qu ly allied to the one we have just considered, is: Do those who die in infancy or childhood continue to grow in the other world, as they would have done had they remained longer in this ? ( )r do they continue forever the same in stature as when they departed this life? Docs Swedenborg answer this question ? If so, how ? How would enlightened reason answer it? we again ask. Is it reasonable to suppose that an infant dying before it is able to walk, will remain to all eternity of the same infantile form, and be forever carried in some sweet mother's arms and dandled on some maternal knee? Is it probable — nay, is it conceivable that the all-wise and loving Father would permit an immortal soul to be thus prematurely arrested in its growth, and by an inci- dent over which that soul had no control, and was there- fore powerless to prevent? For we cannot conceive of the spirit of a little child developing into the grand, ca- pacious, wise and loving soul of a full-grown angel, with- out a corresponding change or development of that spiritual organism which constitutes its body in the spir- itual realm. The idea is repugnant to all our conceptions as well as our knowledge of the laws of divine order. As easily can we conceive of the luscious qualities of P 226 HEAVEN REVEALED. the full-grown and ripened peacli or orange existing in the germ of that fruit soon as the flower has fallen ; or these qualities becoming fully developed there, with- out a corresponding growth and development of the germ itself. Far more reasonable is it to believe that the Lord lias made provision for the growth of the spiritual body- after the material has been sloughed off, that the soul may not be arrested in its development by the mere inci- dent of bodily death. The body grows on earth to the full stature of manhood by the stead}' accretion of ma- terial substance ; what should hinder its growth in heaven to the full stature of angelhood by a similar accretion of spiritual substance? The spiritual bod}- while yet in the flesh, grows with the material, — indeed it is the growth of the spiritual which causes that of the material ; what then is to hinder its continued growth after it leaves the flesh? It is not natural but spiritual substance that feeds the soul while in the natural bod}-; and will it not have the same food, and the same means of growth there- fore, after this bod}' dies? It is clear enough, then, what the verdict of reason is on this subject. Now listen to the testimony of him whose spiritual eyes and ears w r ere opened, and who was able, therefore, to testify " from things seen and heard." Many persons may imagine that infants remain such in heaven, and exist as infants among the angels. They who do not know what constitutes an angel, may have confirmed themselves in this opinion from the images sometimes seen in churches where angels are exhibited infants. But the ca^e is altogether otherwise. Intel- ence and Wisdom constitute an angel ; and so long as infants have not intelligence and wisdom, the}' arc not REyi 5 FN HE AVI hen tl , then for the first time tl it I ha\ — they then no ppear as infants, but as adult ire then no longer of an infantile genius, but of a more mature angelic genius. Intel". and v. m produce th t. As infants are perfected in in- telli and wisdom, they appear more mature, tl as youths and young men, because in tell and v. m are real spiritual nourishment. For thi m the things which nourish their minds nourish their I -and this from correspondence; for the form of the body is but the external form of the interiors. 44 It is to be observed that infants in heaven do not ad- vance in age beyond the period of early manhood ; and there they stop forever [#. c. so far as apparent progr in age is concerned]. That I might be assured of this, it was granted me to converse with some who were edu- cated as infants in heaven, and who had grown up there; with some also when thev were infants, and afterwards with the same when they had become young men; and I heard from them the progress of their life from one a to another." — H. H. n. 340. And so we find that, on this as on other subjects, Swe- denborg's revealings " from things heard and seen " are in perfect agreement with the intuitions of the highest reason, and with all that is known of the wisdom and dealings of Providence and of the laws of divine order. It is impossible to conceive of any different view of the subject, which will so completely satisfy the demands of sober reason and an enlightened understanding. In view of such sublime revealings, what a precious boon is heaven ! — yet a boon which all are made capable of attaining, and which it is the Lord's ceaseless desire 228 HEAVEN REVEALED. and effort to help us to attain. There flows forever the stream of the water of life, and forever increases in crystal clearness. There the fountains of Wisdom are ever fresh, and the flame of love burns with ever-increasing fervor. There beauty never fades, but^ever grows more fresh and fair. There none grow old, but all rejuvenate ; — all who have passed on earth their manhood's prime, are forever advancing towards younger, yet still riper life. Old age puts off its wrinkles there, and returns to the vigor and bloom of earl\- manhood. There joys never decay, and the warm current of bounding life gushes forth with perennial freshness. And the simple yet all-sufficient reason is, that the angels are forever becoming more and more receptive of the I )ivine Life — forever drawing nearer and nearer, or becoming more and more like, Him who is the one eternal Source of all wisdom, beauty, life and joy. XIX. HO USES AND HOMES IN HEAVEN ONE of the definitions which a distinguished lexi- cographer lias given of heaven, is, " the home of the blessed." And all good people, when they think of heaven, think of it as a HOME, — their denial home. When they look forward to the time of their decease, they think and speak of it as the time when they hope to be takm home. And when a righteous man clos his earthly pilgrimage, his neighbors say: " The good //( MES /X ill .11 I man has home." And they mean I))' this no m< nor less than that he has prone to heaven. Indeed, there is heavenly meaning and heavenly music in this monosyllable, — Home. There is meaning in it which the universal human mind p< md mu which the universal human heart feels. Home is I hallowed spot to which our fondest affections cling.; the u re o[ our strongest attachments, our sweetest re- membrances, our brightest hopes, our purest joys :ry- thing dear to the heart of a good man, everything most serene and peaceful in life, everything pleasant or cv n tolerable in death, clusters around this word. The sol- dier in the camp, the sailor on the seas, the traveler in foreign lands, — how does his eye kindle and his pulse quicken at the bare mention of this word ! As sings the poet : k> Who that in distant lands has chanced to roam, er thrilled with pleasure at the name of home ?'' "Very often," says Dr. Scars, "when the eyes are closing in death, and this world is shutting off the light from the departing soul, the last wish which is made audible, is, ' to go home.' The words break out some- times through the cloud of delirium ; but it is the Mail's deepest and most central want, groping after its object, haply soon to find it as the clogs of earth clear away, and she springs up on the line of swift affection, as the bee with unerring precision shoots through the dusk of evening to her cell." — Foregleatns of Immortality, p. 128. Yes : Among all the deep wants of our nature, among the strong yearnings of every good man's heart, none are deeper or stronger than the want of, and the yearn- 20 2 30 ///;. / / '/•:. v re j '/■:. / L E / K ing for, a peaceful and happy home. To say of any man that he is homeless, is to picture him as forlorn and des- olate, ail exile and a wanderer, not yet having reached the goal of his earthly hopes. Now, God has implanted no deep want in the human breast without providing for its gratification. As a wise and beneficent Being, he must provide for the ultimate satisfaction of every desire which his own boundless love has placed within us. And this universal desire for a home, is one which belongs to the soul's nature. It is rooted in our spiritual constitution, — so deeply rooted, too, that we may be sure it will not perish with the death of the bod\'. And when we consider that this desire increases rather than diminishes in strength as we ad- vance in the regenerate life, or approximate the heavenly state, how can we resist the conclusion that it will exist in heaven also, and be even stronger there than here? And if this universal desire for a home goes with us into the other world (as it must, if it belongs to our spiritual constitution), we may be sure that the Lord, in the plenitude of his love and wisdom, will not fail to provide for its gratification in heaven. For the angels would be unhappy, and heaven would be no heaven to them, if, endowed with an intense longing for a home, the means and opportunity of satisfying this thirst were denied them. The conclusion, therefore, is forced upon us, that there are and must be homes in heaven, as there are in all the best and happiest portions of earth. But the moment we think of the angels as having homes t we think of them as dwelling in houses, — so inti- Hi WES /.v / mately is the idea of hom ited in our minds with kind of habitation, \\ n thii hu- man homes without human habitations oi >rt; and they arc no more possible in h< av< n than on earth. True, the first use of houses here n I the storms and shelter from the cold and heat But this, though it be their primary, is b means their [best, use. A house everywhere stan< >re- sentative image of home. It is the symbol of tho home-born, home-bred, and home-felt joys which con- stitute " that best portion of a good man's life." Suppi there were no inclement skies, no chilling frosts, nor scorching heat, nor drenching rains, nor pitiless blasts, nor anything, indeed, to make houses necessary to bod- ily comfort, does it follow that human beings would then need and have no houses ? By no means ; for so long as the love of home lives in the hearts of good men and women, so long will some kind of habitation be sought and had as the symbol of that love. Human beings, and especially those who have made much pr< ress in regeneration, will have houses as the sanctuaries of those pure domestic joys which are more than half the solace and sunshine and fragrance of life. Therefore houses, though not needed in heaven as a defense against cold and storms, are needed for their higher spiritual uses. And as sure as there dwells in the hearts of angels the love of home (and we cannot think of them as existing without this love), so sure is it that they must have houses. Moreover, the outward or phenomenal heaven would lose half its beauty if there were no houses. Picture to 232 HE A 1 7:'X RE J 7. . / L ED. yourself the loveliest rural scene imaginable — fields and forests, trees and lawns, gardens and flowers, singing- birds and gurgling brooks, fleecy clouds and azure skies — and the picture would be clearly defective or incom- fce without human habitations. The presence of LUtiful houses as the symbols of life's sweetest joys, would be indispensable to the completeness of the ne. The aesthetic element of our nature demands this. It is because the love of home is so deeply implanted in the human heart, that we always feel the need of a house as its symbol to complete the beauty of any land- scape. Heaven, therefore, without human habitations would be lacking in one important element of beauty. It would not be our conception of the celestial realms. Besides, some of the deepest, tenderest, and best feel- ings of the heart — feelings which can be developed and kept alive only in the sanctuary of home — could not be visibly represented in heaven without houses. There- fore these feelings could not live — could, indeed, have no existence — in heaven ; for every living thing in the hearts of the angels, is pictured there under visible and correspondent! forms. This is the law which under- lies and determines all the phenomena of the other world — the law of correspondence. That there should be houses in heaven, therefore, seems altogether reasonable ; and not only reasonable, but, if the inner is visibly pictured in the outer world there, there must be houses. The great law that deter- mines the whole aspect of the phenomenal world in the Hereafter, necessitates this conclusion. And through the ttion of this ought al utiful ; 1,,r these, like all their other surroundin , the aormal outbirth on of their interior Stat in Let correspondence with tl that i with their prevailing the dispositions and motives— in short, with their rulii lov the clear verdict of reason on this subject. Such the conclusion reached by fair and logical ar it based upon certain known principles and deeply implanted instincts of our better nature. And now let us see how far the disclosures made thror. veden- borg agree with this conclusion; for, if true, they should not be in conflict with reason. The following extra are pertinent : " >ince there are societies in heaven, and the angels live as men, therefore they have habitations, and th like various according to each one's state of lite; magnificent for those in a state of superior dignity, and less magnificent for those in an inferior condition. . . I have been present with the angels in their habitations, which are precisely like those on earth called hous but more beautiful. They contain halls, parlors and bed-chambers in great numbers; also courts, and round about them, gardens, fields and shrubberies. Where the angels live in societies, their habitations are coir uous, close to each other, and arranged in the form of a city, with streets, alleys and public square like the cities on earth. It has also been granted me to walk through them, and occasionally to enter the houses. This occurred in a state of full wakefuln when my interior sight was opened." — II. H. n. 183, 184. 20 * 2 j 4 ///•;. / 1 '/■; . \ ' re i •/•: \LED. "All the angels have their own habitations, which are magnificent I have occasionally seen them, and admired them, and have there conversed with the occu- pants. They are so distinct and conspicuous that noth- ing can be more so. The houses on earth are scarcely anything in comparison. Indeed, the angels say that such things on earth are dead and not real ; but that their own are alive and true, because they arc from the Lord. Their architecture is such as to be the ground and source of the architectural art, with an indefinite variety. The angels have assured me that, if they could have all the palaces on earth, they would not exchange their own for them. What is of stone and mortar and wood is to them dead; but what is from the Lord, or from essential life and light, this, they say, is alive — and the more so, as they enjoy it with all the fulness of sense. For the things in heaven are perfectly adapt- ed to the senses of spirits and angels; while things seen in the light of this solar world are altogether in- visible to them. "The walls of the habitations of angelic spirits are constructed with much variety, and are adorned also with flowers, and wreaths of flowers wonderfully com- posed, beside many other ornaments, which are varied in an orderly succession. At one time they appear in a clear light; at another time, in a light less clear; but always with interior delight. Their houses are also changed into more and more beautiful ones, as the spirits become more perfect in character." — A. C. n. i6y>-i630. M I have seen the palaces of heaven, which were mag- nificent beyond description. Their upper parts shone refulgent as if of pure gold, and their lower parts as if of precious stones. Some were more splendid than others; and the splendor without was equalled by the magnificence within. The apartments were ornamented ; /x HE 1 I v W - It ] words can ad quatel; >e. «« 1 h r< en inf that not only the ; anc l h< ic minutest particulars both within and without them, correspond to the in in the an I; that the house itself in ral C()l: rood, and the various thii th- in it to the various particul f which their com —II. H. n. 185, 186. w all t] a perfect agreement with the laws of the spiritual world as unfolded by the same author It is precisely what might have been illy inferred, if the ruling loves of heaven and the law that ermines the phenomenal world there, be what he often tells us they are. Everything he has said about the habitations of the angels, is found to be in perfect harmony with all his other disclosures, and to foil by strict logical sequence from his fundamental princi- ples. So that what has been revealed through him on this subject is seen to have the merit of perfect consist- ency; and it is not less reasonable than consistent. The houses in heaven, we are told, correspond to the character or internal state of those who live in them. They are the visible representatives of the ruling lo of their occupants. And so exact is the correspondence that no angel can dwell permanently in any other house than his own ; for no other would be in correspondence with his state of life. His house is, in fact, a normal out- birth from his own state, built up or created from it and in correspondence with it. As the angels are all in states of love akin to the Lord's own, — all in bright, cheerful, affectionate, happy 236 HE. I J EN RE J EALE . — therefore their houses arc all very beautiful. But there are countless degrees and kind 1 in which the angels and a consequent endless diversity of state among them, just as there are among good men and women on earth. And accordingly their habitations, although the\- are all beautiful, arc all somewhat differ- ent, corresponding to their different kinds and degrees of good. There is the same endless diversity in the heavenly habitations that there is in the character of their occupants; — the same, indeed, that characterizes the face of the whole habitable earth and every part of the material universe. In the spiritual world every ones own state determines not only the character of his habitation, but his place of abode and all his surroundings. And lie can feel per- fectly at home nowhere but in the midst of surroundings which are in correspondence with his inner life. This is both reasonable and probable. The same law is op- erative among men on earth, and with close approxima- tion to the same results. The character of every one does, in time, reveal itself to some extent in his earthly surroundings ; and there is ever a strong tendency in this direction. If possessed of ample means, and left to act in perfect freedom, each one chooses a location and builds and furnishes a house corresponding to his idea of beaut}', comfort and convenience. Give to some people the most magnificent habitation filled and surrounded with every- thing beautiful, and leave them to do with it as they please, and how long will it be before that palatial resi- dence will be changed to a loathsome den ? Of a nature (inherited or acquired) akin to that of certain animals, they will. loveliest habitation into a squalid them wh ou will, amid what- uty or m i ind th< mot fail in time to stamp their own character on all their sur- roundings. And en the other hand, place ; finement and culture in the humblest cabin, and will th not in time so beautify and adorn that cabin, that it will reveal to the intelligent observer something of their re- fined and cultivated tastes ? And the »n is obvious ; for every kind of life is delighted with, and there! ks, that and Oftfythat which cone-ponds with its own nature. And the same great law that fashions the habitations and the whole outward aspect of heaven, is (as might be expected, if true) no less operative or potential in hell. Character (good or bad) shapes each one's house and all his surroundings in the other world, in complete correspondence: with itself. And while the heavenly abodes are all inconceivably bright and beautiful, those