Doctrinal Class:
Becoming Likenesses of the Lord
Lessons: Heaven and Hell 13 - 16, 18
By Rev. Paul Booth
Becoming Likenesses of the Lord
Lessons: Heaven and Hell 13 - 16, 18
By Rev. Paul Booth
This doctrinal class is taken from Heaven and Its Wonder and Hell from the section entitled "The Divine of the Lord in Heaven is love to Him and Charity towards the neighbor" (HH 13). What is it that comes to your mind about Heaven; is it a place or a location? What do you think about concerning love or charity?
From this truth found in Heaven and Hell 13 one learns that there is an inflow or a proceeding of the Divine from the Lord into Heaven and that it is called Divine Truth. Note, here, the Lord has said that the Kingdom of God is within a person. Thus, Divine Truth flows into man even while on earth, although he is not cognizant of it, mankind having rejected the celestial and spiritual and, now, lives in the natural state, and is 'as it were' shut off from communication with those - angels - in these states. The Divine Truth of Itself is not separate from the essence of God that flows therein; (but, there is the appearance that it is, while man lives in the natural state) even as good and truth does not proceed separately from the Divine. The Lord's attributes - love and wisdom - are as one in Him. We learn here, also, that Divine Truth is from Divine Love and, in fact, in love is truth and in truth is love and they are not separated in the Lord or flowing from Him. And, from our lesson, we learn that even though it is from Divine Love, Divine Truth is conjoined with Divine Love as heat with light proceeding from the sun of this world. From this we see that the inflow of love and wisdom from the Lord is Divine Good conjoined to Divine Truth, though on earth men separate them, while angels in Heaven imbibe them. Again, note, here, that the lesson speaks about Heaven and angels. It is otherwise with the man on earth, for in his mind - his will and understanding - in the natural state, he separates these two essentials - truth and good - for he only sees such truths in appearances, that is, he understands them through his own will and understand - his proprium - because of mankind's fall from grace. He now lives 'as it were' from his self and not from the Lord. Thus, he loves self and things of the natural world and not the Lord. However, from a spiritual sense from the Divine of the Lord there flows Divine Truth that is conjoined to Divine Good even as it flows to angels in Heaven.
The result is that those in Heaven love the Lord by which love is meant their life with them from the Lord. We also learn that life from the Lord is the Divine Good, that is, it is the good of love through and from the Divine Truth in them. We read,
"The Divine Good which is compared to heat is the good of love with the angels, whereas the Divine Truth which is compared to light is that through which and from which comes the good of love" (HH 13e). See note on the good of love.
From what is said thus far from a literal or natural understanding of the Word, is that Divine Truth and Divine Good in Heaven with angels are the good of love and as such, are in them life. However, wherein does Divine Truth flow into the angels and is there within them? Are they in any particular place, either natural or spiritual? To be sure, there is the appearance that there is a place called Heaven and is just as the world appears. Nonetheless, Heaven is a state and it does not exist outside of angels or man. Thus, it is said, that without angels there would be no Heaven. One can see that Heaven is within the mind of men and angels and is in their will and understanding when their life is made good and is true according to Divine Truth and Divine Love that flows into them and they become likenesses of the Lord.
Continuing, love in Heaven, that is, in angels is in the Divine in Heaven or the love within angels and men is the Lord's Divine in them (HH 14). We, however, must learn and know how love becomes love with a man in the natural life here on earth. Just by saying that the Lord with a man is His love with him means nothing, unless it becomes experienced in act or in life. Basically, love with a man is the Lord's life with him. Here, you see the man is a receptacle of life, that life being the Lord's and from the Lord. And, it is with him in accordance with the man's reception of that love or life. Thus, it can be said we are either in Heaven in the degree of love that we receive or we are in hell according to our love of self and of the world, though we see this in appearances. As such, in addition to the Divine Truth that is from Divine Love in a man, the Divine's Good is conjoined with Divine Truth within him if he accepts it. The result is that there is then the good of love and of life with the man. It is this very being of life that is called love that makes Heaven with and in man, for this love causes spiritual conjunction, however, that conjunction has been 'as it were' severed, because mankind had turned away and rejected that Divine Truth and Love. Still, it continues to flow into us and is there that we may truly live. We, but, need to accept it in love.
Quoting from Heaven and Hell number 14, we read,
"The Divine in Heaven which makes Heaven is love, because love is spiritual conjunction. It conjoins angels to the Lord and conjoins them to one another, so conjoining them, that, in the Lord's sight, they are all as one. Moreover, love is the very being (esse) of life with everyone, consequently it is from love that both angels and men have their life. Everyone who considers the matter may know that the inmost vitality of man is from love, for he grows warm from its presence, cold from it absence and, deprived of it, he dies. But it ought to be known that each one's life is in accordance with the love he has."
If we come to understand that it is love that conjoins angels to the Lord and to each other, then we will understand that that same love conjoins the man of the Church with the Lord and with each other to the degree that that love from the Lord is within him in accordance to his acceptance. We should immediately come to the realization that love is not ours; it is the Lord's, it is not natural, but spiritual, although it is manifested in our natural state through willing and doing what is taught in the Word. This truth applies to both the good and the truth from the Lord in man equally as well. If we claim these two essences - good and truth - are ours or that we do well and have the truth from ourself, we destroy the life or the love that comes from the Lord to us and we remain separated from the Lord and from Heaven here and in the next world. And, in truth we continue in our love for self, having not chosen to accept that life that proceeds from the Lord. One can see this illustrated in the Word in the suns heat and light coming into the things of the earth and causing them to become fruitful, whereas, without that heat these things are torpid and lifeless. Thus, in Heaven where the Divine Truth and Divine Love flow as spiritual light and heat, life or love is insinuated into angels. One can see, here, the Lord is that Sun of the Spiritual World that brings life to all those in that Heavenly state. Still, a man, while on earth, can begin to accept that very same love or life as do angels.
The Word is understood by us on earth in its literal or natural sense, and as such, it applies to us since we are natural. One sees, here, why there is a Word or the Divine Scriptures on earth, because of the presence of the Divine's Truth and Love, which are in themselves spiritual, are no longer known, that is, perceived as they once were. As a result, there is no longer a paradise on earth and man, who now lives in the natural state, is closed off from the spiritual and celestial states where the Divine is present with the angels, bringing them His love, that they have eternal life. We must ask why the Lord reveals these truths about the life of angels in the Word? Is it just so we can gain knowledge for ourselves to store in our memories? Why are these truths and stories given in the Third Testament concerning Heaven and angels? The answer is that the Word is given for our regeneration, and as such, we can be led to receive the Lord's life, which, as was said, is called love with man, just as the angels receive that love. It is so that we may receive spiritual life as angels receive it in Heaven from the Lord. In other words, we are to be conjoined even while here on earth together with the Lord's spirit and that is within us from, though we turn away from it even as our forefathers had. It is through our reformation or through the shunning sins that we can come to know the Spirit of Truth - the Holy Spirit - that is now within us. And, thus, we do not need to wait until we leave this world before we become spiritual. And, as such, the man who comes into regeneration while on earth comes into the Lord's New Church and, thus, that Church is a spiritual Church as was the Ancient Church, whose doctrine was charity.
Yet, we see today, the former Christian Churches waiting for the Lord to come again as a man on earth. The person of the Lord's New Church knows that the Lord's Divine Human has already descended in Truth in a new Word and he accepts the Divine Truths flowing into him even as the angels do. Remember, love is spiritual, so knowing or understanding that natural truths need to become spiritual truths within us, making our love genuine so that it is and we are conjoined with the Lord. It is a fact, that without the Lord's love, we can never come into any degree of Heavenly life.
Our lessons say that angels receive love - love from the Lord to the Lord and love towards the neighbor. So, too, are we to receive these same two loves. However, as we should know, we are born with the love of self and of the world, the two opposite loves - love to self and love of the world. Now, as we have shown the love of self and the world has closed our minds, our will and our understanding, to any spiritual love that proceeds from the Lord. This is because we are in the natural degree of life or state and, as such, we see the person and his personality, but not the good and the truth he has from the Lord. The result is, if a person favors our will - does what we want - we will probably pursue their friendship. The truth is we often fail to look for the goodness and the truthfulness in another, though the Word teaches that we should. You see, our thoughts all lie on the natural plane and when we love a neighbor, we often love him because of what we will gain by the friendship. This should not be the case. Our love towards the neighbor should be because we see he is truthful and is good and that we know those qualities are the Lord's in him. We need to love the truth and good for the sake of truth and good, not for our sake.
Unless you have heard New Church sermons or have read from the Third Testament you probably are unaware that in Heaven one does not love the person of the Lord or the person of his neighbor, but loves the good in them that is from the Lord's love. In other words, we are to love the proceeding Divine Truth and Good flowing forth from the Divine. This, which flows into man and angel, is the Lord's love; it is His Life and His Life vivifies us; it makes us become alive. We can see a beautiful picture of this in Genesis. Jehovah breathed into man the breath of life. What else is this 'breath of life' than the Divine Truth flowing from the Divine Love? This brings us to another aspect of love: that of willing and of doing. For what is love without there a willing and doing except an idea, unless that idea come into act in man it is remains 'as if' dead?
The Lord has commanded that we love one another as He loves us; He has commanded that we love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind. In the Word we learn that to love the Lord is willing and doing good, but from His commandments to love the neighbor is willing and doing truth, which is from the Lord. This may not be taught so clearly in all Churches, but it is taught and seen clearly in the Lord's New Church. Yet, with all men it is something that might be known, for when we will and do what is asked of us by someone else; we are conjoined with that person when he or she reciprocates our intentions. Thus, it is in this way that we reciprocate the Lord's love and that we become conjoined with the Lord and Heaven while we are here in this world.
Let us read this truth. "I have several times talked with angels about this matter (number 13). They declared their surprise that men of the Church do not know that loving the Lord and the neighbor is loving good and truth and doing this as a result of willing them, when yet they might know that one shows his love by willing and doing whatever the other wills, and that in this way he is loved in return and is conjoined with the one he loves, not by loving him without doing his will, which in itself is not loving. They also said that men should know that the good going forth from the Lord is a likeness of Himself because He is in it, and that those who make good and truth the principles of their life by intention and action become likenesses of Him and are conjoined to Him. Indeed, to will is to love doing. Besides, the Lord teaches in the Word that this is so, saying.
'He that has My commandments and does them, he it is that loves Me . . . and I will love him . . . and will make My abode with him' (John 14: 21, 23) and again,
'If you do My commandments, you shall abide in My love' (John 15: 10, 12").
(Heaven and Hell 16)
Since it is love that causes our spiritual conjunction, we are conjoined with the Lord and Heaven. So, then, we are conjoined spiritually with another person when we willingly choose to do his or her desire or will. If we let others led us to do their wills, we will become conjoined with them. Thus, their loves become our loves, that is, each loves himself and whatever worldly gain he desires. This, the Christian knows is wrong and will lead him away from the Lord. You can understand why we are to do or follow the Lord and His Commandments. Therefore, it is of necessity that one is to will and do the Lord's commandments. They are: to love Him and to love the neighbor, which is to love the good and the truth coming from the Lord that is within a man and within ourselves. We must not love the person for the sake of ourselves.
The good coming from the Lord, which we have learned, is the good of love, has within it the Lord's likeness. If we just love the person or neighbor, then the person's spirit going forth is loved whether it is good and truth coming from the Lord or evil and falsities coming from hell. If it is coming from the person himself, it is in the likeness of the person himself. We know that the person himself, like us, has no good or truth of his own. Thus, we can understand that we must receive the good going forth from the Lord; for when we do, we then "make good and truth the principle of (our) life by intention and action and become likenesses of Him and are conjoined to Him" (HH 16). While we are in this world we are unaware of any spiritual spheres of life, for we live in the natural state. If we are unaware of such spheres of life, then we cannot be effected by them, for if we were, we would not be able to resist the persuasion of their love and would rush headlong into hell. To understand this we must know that our spirit lives in the spiritual world and is there among other spirits, both good and evil. If we were allowed to be effected by them, we could not resist being persuaded. It would be like someone persuading us even against our wishes as some men can do.
However, we are here in this world in spiritual equilibrium because of the subjugation of hell by the Lord and, so, we can shun falsities and evil ideas coming to us that are contrary to the Word. Nonetheless, that does not prevent the thoughts of others that are often expressed from influencing us to become led in our own desires for self, thus being led astray. In other words, you cannot blame hell or evil or the devil for your sins. One's affections are revealed to us and, as such, we may or may not will to do them according to our own loves. If we will and do another person's will, if we are influenced by them, we then conjoin ourselves with them, whether or not their will is to do good from the Lord or not, but as you see, we have that choice and can choose truth and do good, for we are in spiritual freedom.
Finally, let us read number 18 of Heaven and Hell.
"The Divine of the Lord in Heaven is love, for the reason that love is the receptacle of all things of Heaven, which are peace, intelligence, wisdom and happiness. For love is receptive of each and all things in agreement with it. It desires them, seeks them and imbibes them, as it were, spontaneously, for it desires unceasingly to be enriched and perfected by means of them. This, indeed, is well known to man. For with him, love as it were looks into the stores of his memory, drawing forth all things in accord with itself, collecting and arranging them in and under itself - in itself, that they may be its own, under itself, that they may be serviceable to it. Other things not in accord, it rejects and expels. That there is present in love every capacity for receiving truths in agreement with itself and the desire to conjoin them to itself had indeed been made abundantly clear by the experience of some who were taken up into Heaven. Although they had been simple-minded when in the world, yet among the angels they came into angelic wisdom and heavenly blessedness. This was because they loved what is good and true for the sake of good and truth, and implanted them in their life, thereby becoming capable for receiving such things. But they who are in love of self and of the world have no capacity for receiving such things. They turn from them and reject them, and at the first touch and influx of them they flee away and associate with those in hell who are in loves like their own. There were spirits who were doubtful about there being such capacities in Heavenly love, and who desired to know Heavenly love, whether it were so. They were therefore brought into a state of Heavenly love, whatever opposed being for the time removed. They were then brought forward some distance where there was an angelic Heaven, and from it they talked with me, saying that they perceived a more interior happiness than they could express in words, and lamenting greatly that they would be returning to their former state. Others also were taken up into Heaven, and the higher or more interiorly they were exalted, the more they perceive what before had been incomprehensible to them. From this it is clear that love, going forth from the Lord, is the receptacle of Heaven and of all things therein."
If we hear the Lord's voice, if we have heard His Word, and will to do His commandments, then, His good and His truth, that is, His love becomes a receptacle of all things of Heaven. It is them that we will have peace, intelligence, wisdom and happiness as do angels, for we will have within us Heaven and the Lord and when we depart this world and our natural state, we enter the spiritual world and state of life where we are conjoined with the Lord and Heaven, for we are in Him and He is in us - that peace, intelligence, wisdom, and happiness.
End.
. . . those who make good and truth the principles of their life by intention and action become likenesses of Him and are conjoined to Him (HH 16).
Number 13 and the reading are quoted for those who do not have the book Heaven and Hell: "The Divine going forth from the Lord is called in Heaven Divine Truth, for a reason which will be shown in what follows. This Divine Truth inflows into Heaven from the Lord from His Divine Love. The Divine Love and the Divine Truth therefrom are related to each other as are the fire of the sun and the light therefrom in the world, love being as the fire of the sun and the truth therefrom as light from the sun. Moreover, from correspondence fire signifies love, and light, truth going forth from Divine Love. From this, the nature of Divine Truth going forth from Divine Love can be confirmed. In its essence, it is Divine Good conjoined to Divine Truth, and because it is conjoined, it gives life to all things of Heaven, just as the heat of the sun conjoined to light in the world makes all things of the earth fruitful, as happens in the spring and summer. It is otherwise when heat is not conjoined to light, thus when the light is cold. Then all things are torpid and lifeless. This Divine Good which is compared to heat is the good of love with the angels, whereas the Divine Truth which is compared to light is that through which and from which comes the good of love." Note: The good of love is celestial love, which is that love to the Lord. Within the good of love to the Lord is the good of life, which is charity towards the neighbor.From this truth found in Heaven and Hell 13 one learns that there is an inflow or a proceeding of the Divine from the Lord into Heaven and that it is called Divine Truth. Note, here, the Lord has said that the Kingdom of God is within a person. Thus, Divine Truth flows into man even while on earth, although he is not cognizant of it, mankind having rejected the celestial and spiritual and, now, lives in the natural state, and is 'as it were' shut off from communication with those - angels - in these states. The Divine Truth of Itself is not separate from the essence of God that flows therein; (but, there is the appearance that it is, while man lives in the natural state) even as good and truth does not proceed separately from the Divine. The Lord's attributes - love and wisdom - are as one in Him. We learn here, also, that Divine Truth is from Divine Love and, in fact, in love is truth and in truth is love and they are not separated in the Lord or flowing from Him. And, from our lesson, we learn that even though it is from Divine Love, Divine Truth is conjoined with Divine Love as heat with light proceeding from the sun of this world. From this we see that the inflow of love and wisdom from the Lord is Divine Good conjoined to Divine Truth, though on earth men separate them, while angels in Heaven imbibe them. Again, note, here, that the lesson speaks about Heaven and angels. It is otherwise with the man on earth, for in his mind - his will and understanding - in the natural state, he separates these two essentials - truth and good - for he only sees such truths in appearances, that is, he understands them through his own will and understand - his proprium - because of mankind's fall from grace. He now lives 'as it were' from his self and not from the Lord. Thus, he loves self and things of the natural world and not the Lord. However, from a spiritual sense from the Divine of the Lord there flows Divine Truth that is conjoined to Divine Good even as it flows to angels in Heaven.
The result is that those in Heaven love the Lord by which love is meant their life with them from the Lord. We also learn that life from the Lord is the Divine Good, that is, it is the good of love through and from the Divine Truth in them. We read,
"The Divine Good which is compared to heat is the good of love with the angels, whereas the Divine Truth which is compared to light is that through which and from which comes the good of love" (HH 13e). See note on the good of love.
From what is said thus far from a literal or natural understanding of the Word, is that Divine Truth and Divine Good in Heaven with angels are the good of love and as such, are in them life. However, wherein does Divine Truth flow into the angels and is there within them? Are they in any particular place, either natural or spiritual? To be sure, there is the appearance that there is a place called Heaven and is just as the world appears. Nonetheless, Heaven is a state and it does not exist outside of angels or man. Thus, it is said, that without angels there would be no Heaven. One can see that Heaven is within the mind of men and angels and is in their will and understanding when their life is made good and is true according to Divine Truth and Divine Love that flows into them and they become likenesses of the Lord.
Continuing, love in Heaven, that is, in angels is in the Divine in Heaven or the love within angels and men is the Lord's Divine in them (HH 14). We, however, must learn and know how love becomes love with a man in the natural life here on earth. Just by saying that the Lord with a man is His love with him means nothing, unless it becomes experienced in act or in life. Basically, love with a man is the Lord's life with him. Here, you see the man is a receptacle of life, that life being the Lord's and from the Lord. And, it is with him in accordance with the man's reception of that love or life. Thus, it can be said we are either in Heaven in the degree of love that we receive or we are in hell according to our love of self and of the world, though we see this in appearances. As such, in addition to the Divine Truth that is from Divine Love in a man, the Divine's Good is conjoined with Divine Truth within him if he accepts it. The result is that there is then the good of love and of life with the man. It is this very being of life that is called love that makes Heaven with and in man, for this love causes spiritual conjunction, however, that conjunction has been 'as it were' severed, because mankind had turned away and rejected that Divine Truth and Love. Still, it continues to flow into us and is there that we may truly live. We, but, need to accept it in love.
Quoting from Heaven and Hell number 14, we read,
"The Divine in Heaven which makes Heaven is love, because love is spiritual conjunction. It conjoins angels to the Lord and conjoins them to one another, so conjoining them, that, in the Lord's sight, they are all as one. Moreover, love is the very being (esse) of life with everyone, consequently it is from love that both angels and men have their life. Everyone who considers the matter may know that the inmost vitality of man is from love, for he grows warm from its presence, cold from it absence and, deprived of it, he dies. But it ought to be known that each one's life is in accordance with the love he has."
If we come to understand that it is love that conjoins angels to the Lord and to each other, then we will understand that that same love conjoins the man of the Church with the Lord and with each other to the degree that that love from the Lord is within him in accordance to his acceptance. We should immediately come to the realization that love is not ours; it is the Lord's, it is not natural, but spiritual, although it is manifested in our natural state through willing and doing what is taught in the Word. This truth applies to both the good and the truth from the Lord in man equally as well. If we claim these two essences - good and truth - are ours or that we do well and have the truth from ourself, we destroy the life or the love that comes from the Lord to us and we remain separated from the Lord and from Heaven here and in the next world. And, in truth we continue in our love for self, having not chosen to accept that life that proceeds from the Lord. One can see this illustrated in the Word in the suns heat and light coming into the things of the earth and causing them to become fruitful, whereas, without that heat these things are torpid and lifeless. Thus, in Heaven where the Divine Truth and Divine Love flow as spiritual light and heat, life or love is insinuated into angels. One can see, here, the Lord is that Sun of the Spiritual World that brings life to all those in that Heavenly state. Still, a man, while on earth, can begin to accept that very same love or life as do angels.
The Word is understood by us on earth in its literal or natural sense, and as such, it applies to us since we are natural. One sees, here, why there is a Word or the Divine Scriptures on earth, because of the presence of the Divine's Truth and Love, which are in themselves spiritual, are no longer known, that is, perceived as they once were. As a result, there is no longer a paradise on earth and man, who now lives in the natural state, is closed off from the spiritual and celestial states where the Divine is present with the angels, bringing them His love, that they have eternal life. We must ask why the Lord reveals these truths about the life of angels in the Word? Is it just so we can gain knowledge for ourselves to store in our memories? Why are these truths and stories given in the Third Testament concerning Heaven and angels? The answer is that the Word is given for our regeneration, and as such, we can be led to receive the Lord's life, which, as was said, is called love with man, just as the angels receive that love. It is so that we may receive spiritual life as angels receive it in Heaven from the Lord. In other words, we are to be conjoined even while here on earth together with the Lord's spirit and that is within us from, though we turn away from it even as our forefathers had. It is through our reformation or through the shunning sins that we can come to know the Spirit of Truth - the Holy Spirit - that is now within us. And, thus, we do not need to wait until we leave this world before we become spiritual. And, as such, the man who comes into regeneration while on earth comes into the Lord's New Church and, thus, that Church is a spiritual Church as was the Ancient Church, whose doctrine was charity.
Yet, we see today, the former Christian Churches waiting for the Lord to come again as a man on earth. The person of the Lord's New Church knows that the Lord's Divine Human has already descended in Truth in a new Word and he accepts the Divine Truths flowing into him even as the angels do. Remember, love is spiritual, so knowing or understanding that natural truths need to become spiritual truths within us, making our love genuine so that it is and we are conjoined with the Lord. It is a fact, that without the Lord's love, we can never come into any degree of Heavenly life.
Our lessons say that angels receive love - love from the Lord to the Lord and love towards the neighbor. So, too, are we to receive these same two loves. However, as we should know, we are born with the love of self and of the world, the two opposite loves - love to self and love of the world. Now, as we have shown the love of self and the world has closed our minds, our will and our understanding, to any spiritual love that proceeds from the Lord. This is because we are in the natural degree of life or state and, as such, we see the person and his personality, but not the good and the truth he has from the Lord. The result is, if a person favors our will - does what we want - we will probably pursue their friendship. The truth is we often fail to look for the goodness and the truthfulness in another, though the Word teaches that we should. You see, our thoughts all lie on the natural plane and when we love a neighbor, we often love him because of what we will gain by the friendship. This should not be the case. Our love towards the neighbor should be because we see he is truthful and is good and that we know those qualities are the Lord's in him. We need to love the truth and good for the sake of truth and good, not for our sake.
Unless you have heard New Church sermons or have read from the Third Testament you probably are unaware that in Heaven one does not love the person of the Lord or the person of his neighbor, but loves the good in them that is from the Lord's love. In other words, we are to love the proceeding Divine Truth and Good flowing forth from the Divine. This, which flows into man and angel, is the Lord's love; it is His Life and His Life vivifies us; it makes us become alive. We can see a beautiful picture of this in Genesis. Jehovah breathed into man the breath of life. What else is this 'breath of life' than the Divine Truth flowing from the Divine Love? This brings us to another aspect of love: that of willing and of doing. For what is love without there a willing and doing except an idea, unless that idea come into act in man it is remains 'as if' dead?
The Lord has commanded that we love one another as He loves us; He has commanded that we love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind. In the Word we learn that to love the Lord is willing and doing good, but from His commandments to love the neighbor is willing and doing truth, which is from the Lord. This may not be taught so clearly in all Churches, but it is taught and seen clearly in the Lord's New Church. Yet, with all men it is something that might be known, for when we will and do what is asked of us by someone else; we are conjoined with that person when he or she reciprocates our intentions. Thus, it is in this way that we reciprocate the Lord's love and that we become conjoined with the Lord and Heaven while we are here in this world.
Let us read this truth. "I have several times talked with angels about this matter (number 13). They declared their surprise that men of the Church do not know that loving the Lord and the neighbor is loving good and truth and doing this as a result of willing them, when yet they might know that one shows his love by willing and doing whatever the other wills, and that in this way he is loved in return and is conjoined with the one he loves, not by loving him without doing his will, which in itself is not loving. They also said that men should know that the good going forth from the Lord is a likeness of Himself because He is in it, and that those who make good and truth the principles of their life by intention and action become likenesses of Him and are conjoined to Him. Indeed, to will is to love doing. Besides, the Lord teaches in the Word that this is so, saying.
'He that has My commandments and does them, he it is that loves Me . . . and I will love him . . . and will make My abode with him' (John 14: 21, 23) and again,
'If you do My commandments, you shall abide in My love' (John 15: 10, 12").
(Heaven and Hell 16)
Since it is love that causes our spiritual conjunction, we are conjoined with the Lord and Heaven. So, then, we are conjoined spiritually with another person when we willingly choose to do his or her desire or will. If we let others led us to do their wills, we will become conjoined with them. Thus, their loves become our loves, that is, each loves himself and whatever worldly gain he desires. This, the Christian knows is wrong and will lead him away from the Lord. You can understand why we are to do or follow the Lord and His Commandments. Therefore, it is of necessity that one is to will and do the Lord's commandments. They are: to love Him and to love the neighbor, which is to love the good and the truth coming from the Lord that is within a man and within ourselves. We must not love the person for the sake of ourselves.
The good coming from the Lord, which we have learned, is the good of love, has within it the Lord's likeness. If we just love the person or neighbor, then the person's spirit going forth is loved whether it is good and truth coming from the Lord or evil and falsities coming from hell. If it is coming from the person himself, it is in the likeness of the person himself. We know that the person himself, like us, has no good or truth of his own. Thus, we can understand that we must receive the good going forth from the Lord; for when we do, we then "make good and truth the principle of (our) life by intention and action and become likenesses of Him and are conjoined to Him" (HH 16). While we are in this world we are unaware of any spiritual spheres of life, for we live in the natural state. If we are unaware of such spheres of life, then we cannot be effected by them, for if we were, we would not be able to resist the persuasion of their love and would rush headlong into hell. To understand this we must know that our spirit lives in the spiritual world and is there among other spirits, both good and evil. If we were allowed to be effected by them, we could not resist being persuaded. It would be like someone persuading us even against our wishes as some men can do.
However, we are here in this world in spiritual equilibrium because of the subjugation of hell by the Lord and, so, we can shun falsities and evil ideas coming to us that are contrary to the Word. Nonetheless, that does not prevent the thoughts of others that are often expressed from influencing us to become led in our own desires for self, thus being led astray. In other words, you cannot blame hell or evil or the devil for your sins. One's affections are revealed to us and, as such, we may or may not will to do them according to our own loves. If we will and do another person's will, if we are influenced by them, we then conjoin ourselves with them, whether or not their will is to do good from the Lord or not, but as you see, we have that choice and can choose truth and do good, for we are in spiritual freedom.
Finally, let us read number 18 of Heaven and Hell.
"The Divine of the Lord in Heaven is love, for the reason that love is the receptacle of all things of Heaven, which are peace, intelligence, wisdom and happiness. For love is receptive of each and all things in agreement with it. It desires them, seeks them and imbibes them, as it were, spontaneously, for it desires unceasingly to be enriched and perfected by means of them. This, indeed, is well known to man. For with him, love as it were looks into the stores of his memory, drawing forth all things in accord with itself, collecting and arranging them in and under itself - in itself, that they may be its own, under itself, that they may be serviceable to it. Other things not in accord, it rejects and expels. That there is present in love every capacity for receiving truths in agreement with itself and the desire to conjoin them to itself had indeed been made abundantly clear by the experience of some who were taken up into Heaven. Although they had been simple-minded when in the world, yet among the angels they came into angelic wisdom and heavenly blessedness. This was because they loved what is good and true for the sake of good and truth, and implanted them in their life, thereby becoming capable for receiving such things. But they who are in love of self and of the world have no capacity for receiving such things. They turn from them and reject them, and at the first touch and influx of them they flee away and associate with those in hell who are in loves like their own. There were spirits who were doubtful about there being such capacities in Heavenly love, and who desired to know Heavenly love, whether it were so. They were therefore brought into a state of Heavenly love, whatever opposed being for the time removed. They were then brought forward some distance where there was an angelic Heaven, and from it they talked with me, saying that they perceived a more interior happiness than they could express in words, and lamenting greatly that they would be returning to their former state. Others also were taken up into Heaven, and the higher or more interiorly they were exalted, the more they perceive what before had been incomprehensible to them. From this it is clear that love, going forth from the Lord, is the receptacle of Heaven and of all things therein."
If we hear the Lord's voice, if we have heard His Word, and will to do His commandments, then, His good and His truth, that is, His love becomes a receptacle of all things of Heaven. It is them that we will have peace, intelligence, wisdom and happiness as do angels, for we will have within us Heaven and the Lord and when we depart this world and our natural state, we enter the spiritual world and state of life where we are conjoined with the Lord and Heaven, for we are in Him and He is in us - that peace, intelligence, wisdom, and happiness.
End.
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