A Book Study Course on
The World of Spirits and Man's State after Death
Introduction: What is the World of Spirits? - Part 4
From "Heaven and Its Wonders and Hell
from things heard and seen"
By Rev. Paul Booth
The World of Spirits and Man's State after Death
Introduction: What is the World of Spirits? - Part 4
From "Heaven and Its Wonders and Hell
from things heard and seen"
By Rev. Paul Booth
428. We learn that as to our spirit, we are in an intermediate state between Heaven and hell. So, as our natural state is in this world with its surroundings, while our spirit is in the world of spirits with its surroundings. Both are temporary places for man, first the natural world for determining whether he will live eternally in Heaven or hell, and second, while in the world of spirits, for preparing him to enter either into Heaven or hell. The demise of our natural body opens the world of spirits from which we, in our spirit, either enter into Heaven or hell. The way into Heaven and hell are both guarded so that those in hell cannot come into the world of spirits and cause havoc, though at times it is permitted for those in hell to enter the world of spirits, but only for the sake of salvation. Those in the world of spirits, who are conjoined with an infernal society cannot enter into Heaven, for they too, are guarded. It is otherwise with those who live in Heavenly societies; the ways are opened and they enter Heaven after their preparation. The way is open and they freely come into Heaven. The nature of evil is to destroy and kill, this is why the opening between hell and the world of spirits is guarded keeping those in hell from coming out and why Heaven is closed to those who come from the natural world who have conjoined evil and falsity within themselves. Those whose disposition is that of evil, would desire to enter Heaven, thus the way or door is guarded to Heaven, but the openings or the doors into hell is through false faith, which they have.
429. In order that man live, there must be the appearance that he lives 'as if' from himself, otherwise he would not live at all, but would be like an automaton or puppet. Thus, it is that the world of spirits appears to the spirits like a valley that is set between mountains and with rocks. We spoke earlier about the doors and gates to Heaven and that they were seen only by Heavenly societies in the world of spirits. This is because, only those, who through instruction of truths and goods form the rational mind, that is, the rational has the principle of good thought, and acts from a principle of goodwill, and so speaks from faith, acts from charity, and thus, can see the doors to Heaven while others cannot.
This is why others, those who do not have good thoughts, do not act from goodwill, cannot see these doors and gates or the openings to Heaven. Their vision has been impaired. Such a man, who has rejected the truths and goods and acted evilly while on earth, has his interior mind closed to Heavenly life, but opened to hell. He sees the doors and gates, the way to hell. The paths into Heaven and the ways into hell each appear in their corresponding thoughts, either of Heaven or of hell.
Our text in #429 tells of nauseous and fetid stenches exhaling from caverns that lead to hell which good spirits, when they smell, flee from, but which evil spirits seek for. The opposite, the evil spirits, if they are struck by a breath of air coming from Heaven cry as if tortured. We know that these ways and paths, doors and gates, are not seen by those whose state differs and who have not been prepared. You might wonder about this and how it is that one is lead to find the right door. You see, when our earthly body is put off, we don't loose our senses - seeing, touching, feeling, smelling. For a spirit has these same senses even as we do as a man, though more acute. We have the sense of smell and the sense of smell corresponds in the spiritual world to our affection of perceiving. Don't we sense the presence of a dead skunk or some other terrible smell and want to flee 'as it were' as soon as possible? And when we sense the smell of something that delights us, we delight and look to see if we can detect where it comes from, for it is pleasant to us. So it is, that whatever are our affections, as a spirit, we will go to, for it delights us. For that is what we love. In this case, either what is good and truth or what is evil and false.
What is evil corresponds to our affection of evil. What is good corresponds to the affections of good. A good spirit abominates evils and falsities, he loves truths; the contrary, an evil spirit hates the truth, he loves falsities. To him truth stinks and good is rancorous. To a good spirit, the opposite is true; he detests falsities for they are truths that have been profaned; to him it is an abomination when goods are profaned. There is delight in what is one's own. Thus, the evil state of such who delights in evil is because his evils and falsities correspond to his affection or love, such as one who delights in certain smells. Thus, he is drawn and perceives the way into hell, for it delights him. Likewise, the state of such who delight in good, because goods and truths are from the Lord and correspond to his affection of love for like smells; thus, he is drawn towards the paths leading to Heaven, and the doors are opened.
430. There are two gates 'as it were' available to everyone in which they may enter as long as they remain in the natural world. One is open to evils and falsities, the other to goods and their truths. A man is in freedom of choice, which gate to enter. Then, upon coming into the world of spirits after his natural death, he will find himself on the path or way according to his spiritual state, either of damnation or reformation leading to his regeneration. While in the world, here, these ways or paths from hell and heaven lead into the man's mind, forming either in him the rational, if goods and their truths come from Heaven into him, or if not, the rational is not formed, if evil and their falsities come from hell into the man's mind, though he thinks he is rational, but what he really is is ratiocinative.
The choice is man's; he can accept truths from the Lord, act according to them, and receive good and its truths, and thus, truths and goods become conjoined in him and he with Heaven and the Lord, or he can reject the truth and the Lord, and so remain in his tendency to sin, opening his mind for evils and their falsities, because of his hereditary natural life. If man accepts and follows truths and does good, then the light of Heaven will inflow and he becomes rational. If he rejects, then the only light from Heaven that he receives is through 'as it were' fissures or cracks in Heaven, that is, natural truths appear from what he reads and learns from the Word, from teachers and parents. From these scant truths a man lives and has life, though he does not know it; he believes life is his own.
These two ways into a man's mind that can form the rational or prevent the rational from being formed are: one, an internal way coming from the Lord through Heaven and are the truths and goods that can enter, and two, the external way and from hell and are the falsities and evils therefrom that can enter. The primary essential of life, the principle life of man, resides in the rational of the man who receives good and truth, that is, who receives the Lord's Love. This love received from the Lord or rejected from the Lord determines a man's disposition and the way he tends to live. These ways are the gates that were referred to: the gate to the rational mind leading into Heaven, and the gate into man's mind, which leads him to hell.
The gate that leads good and truth to form the rational mind and, so leads to Heaven, introduces man into the spiritual things that the Church teaches from the Word. Thus, a man is prepared and led towards Heaven. This is the first gate within man, and in the second, he is led by the Lord and admitted into Heaven. We had spoken about cracks or fissures called in our text chinks in the world of spirits through which the light of Heaven comes through enabling a spirit, who has rejected the Word and the Lord, to think, reason, and speak, otherwise his life would be worse than the beasts and would cast himself immediately into hell. This is their life. That light from Heaven into the world of spirits is the truth, which comes from good to those who love the Lord, the Word who is Truth and Good. Those who refuse, receive only truth which is not conjoined with good.
From this, man can see a correspondence between himself and Heaven or hell. So it is, that when in a state of reformation, the man's spirit in the world of spirits is opened to Heaven above and if not in a state of reformation then hell is opened below to him. Thus, it is that those preparing for Heaven that the regions above the rational mind or his interiors are open; Heaven is opened to such a man. Those preparing for hell, the regions below the rational or his exterior mind are open; hell is opened to such a man. As these regions are opened in the mind, the opposite regions are closed and once the man leaves this natural world they cannot be opened in the world of spirits, for he has confirmed his way by his love, either for Heaven or for hell. However, while he remains in this world, he is held in equilibrium and can choose to believe the truths coming to him from the Lord and so can turn towards the Lord and Heaven. While in this world man can change his love of self by accepting truth for the sake of truth and can do good, because it is good, and not because he might benefit by doing good. He can begin to love truth and so will to do truth, thus the Lord's Love or His Good inflows into him, enlightening and revealing to him interior truths.
For life is confirmed by the actions a man does from love, either love for himself and for worldly things or for a love of the Lord and towards the neighbor and to Heavenly things. This latter love forms within man the rational, which becomes the center from which all things of Heaven are learned, understood, and seen.
End.
429. In order that man live, there must be the appearance that he lives 'as if' from himself, otherwise he would not live at all, but would be like an automaton or puppet. Thus, it is that the world of spirits appears to the spirits like a valley that is set between mountains and with rocks. We spoke earlier about the doors and gates to Heaven and that they were seen only by Heavenly societies in the world of spirits. This is because, only those, who through instruction of truths and goods form the rational mind, that is, the rational has the principle of good thought, and acts from a principle of goodwill, and so speaks from faith, acts from charity, and thus, can see the doors to Heaven while others cannot.
This is why others, those who do not have good thoughts, do not act from goodwill, cannot see these doors and gates or the openings to Heaven. Their vision has been impaired. Such a man, who has rejected the truths and goods and acted evilly while on earth, has his interior mind closed to Heavenly life, but opened to hell. He sees the doors and gates, the way to hell. The paths into Heaven and the ways into hell each appear in their corresponding thoughts, either of Heaven or of hell.
Our text in #429 tells of nauseous and fetid stenches exhaling from caverns that lead to hell which good spirits, when they smell, flee from, but which evil spirits seek for. The opposite, the evil spirits, if they are struck by a breath of air coming from Heaven cry as if tortured. We know that these ways and paths, doors and gates, are not seen by those whose state differs and who have not been prepared. You might wonder about this and how it is that one is lead to find the right door. You see, when our earthly body is put off, we don't loose our senses - seeing, touching, feeling, smelling. For a spirit has these same senses even as we do as a man, though more acute. We have the sense of smell and the sense of smell corresponds in the spiritual world to our affection of perceiving. Don't we sense the presence of a dead skunk or some other terrible smell and want to flee 'as it were' as soon as possible? And when we sense the smell of something that delights us, we delight and look to see if we can detect where it comes from, for it is pleasant to us. So it is, that whatever are our affections, as a spirit, we will go to, for it delights us. For that is what we love. In this case, either what is good and truth or what is evil and false.
What is evil corresponds to our affection of evil. What is good corresponds to the affections of good. A good spirit abominates evils and falsities, he loves truths; the contrary, an evil spirit hates the truth, he loves falsities. To him truth stinks and good is rancorous. To a good spirit, the opposite is true; he detests falsities for they are truths that have been profaned; to him it is an abomination when goods are profaned. There is delight in what is one's own. Thus, the evil state of such who delights in evil is because his evils and falsities correspond to his affection or love, such as one who delights in certain smells. Thus, he is drawn and perceives the way into hell, for it delights him. Likewise, the state of such who delight in good, because goods and truths are from the Lord and correspond to his affection of love for like smells; thus, he is drawn towards the paths leading to Heaven, and the doors are opened.
430. There are two gates 'as it were' available to everyone in which they may enter as long as they remain in the natural world. One is open to evils and falsities, the other to goods and their truths. A man is in freedom of choice, which gate to enter. Then, upon coming into the world of spirits after his natural death, he will find himself on the path or way according to his spiritual state, either of damnation or reformation leading to his regeneration. While in the world, here, these ways or paths from hell and heaven lead into the man's mind, forming either in him the rational, if goods and their truths come from Heaven into him, or if not, the rational is not formed, if evil and their falsities come from hell into the man's mind, though he thinks he is rational, but what he really is is ratiocinative.
The choice is man's; he can accept truths from the Lord, act according to them, and receive good and its truths, and thus, truths and goods become conjoined in him and he with Heaven and the Lord, or he can reject the truth and the Lord, and so remain in his tendency to sin, opening his mind for evils and their falsities, because of his hereditary natural life. If man accepts and follows truths and does good, then the light of Heaven will inflow and he becomes rational. If he rejects, then the only light from Heaven that he receives is through 'as it were' fissures or cracks in Heaven, that is, natural truths appear from what he reads and learns from the Word, from teachers and parents. From these scant truths a man lives and has life, though he does not know it; he believes life is his own.
These two ways into a man's mind that can form the rational or prevent the rational from being formed are: one, an internal way coming from the Lord through Heaven and are the truths and goods that can enter, and two, the external way and from hell and are the falsities and evils therefrom that can enter. The primary essential of life, the principle life of man, resides in the rational of the man who receives good and truth, that is, who receives the Lord's Love. This love received from the Lord or rejected from the Lord determines a man's disposition and the way he tends to live. These ways are the gates that were referred to: the gate to the rational mind leading into Heaven, and the gate into man's mind, which leads him to hell.
The gate that leads good and truth to form the rational mind and, so leads to Heaven, introduces man into the spiritual things that the Church teaches from the Word. Thus, a man is prepared and led towards Heaven. This is the first gate within man, and in the second, he is led by the Lord and admitted into Heaven. We had spoken about cracks or fissures called in our text chinks in the world of spirits through which the light of Heaven comes through enabling a spirit, who has rejected the Word and the Lord, to think, reason, and speak, otherwise his life would be worse than the beasts and would cast himself immediately into hell. This is their life. That light from Heaven into the world of spirits is the truth, which comes from good to those who love the Lord, the Word who is Truth and Good. Those who refuse, receive only truth which is not conjoined with good.
From this, man can see a correspondence between himself and Heaven or hell. So it is, that when in a state of reformation, the man's spirit in the world of spirits is opened to Heaven above and if not in a state of reformation then hell is opened below to him. Thus, it is that those preparing for Heaven that the regions above the rational mind or his interiors are open; Heaven is opened to such a man. Those preparing for hell, the regions below the rational or his exterior mind are open; hell is opened to such a man. As these regions are opened in the mind, the opposite regions are closed and once the man leaves this natural world they cannot be opened in the world of spirits, for he has confirmed his way by his love, either for Heaven or for hell. However, while he remains in this world, he is held in equilibrium and can choose to believe the truths coming to him from the Lord and so can turn towards the Lord and Heaven. While in this world man can change his love of self by accepting truth for the sake of truth and can do good, because it is good, and not because he might benefit by doing good. He can begin to love truth and so will to do truth, thus the Lord's Love or His Good inflows into him, enlightening and revealing to him interior truths.
For life is confirmed by the actions a man does from love, either love for himself and for worldly things or for a love of the Lord and towards the neighbor and to Heavenly things. This latter love forms within man the rational, which becomes the center from which all things of Heaven are learned, understood, and seen.
End.