On Line Study of the Word of the Divine Human:
Book Heaven and Hell, Third Part: Man's State after Death
What the world of spirits is
By Rev. Paul Booth
Part 1
Book Heaven and Hell, Third Part: Man's State after Death
What the world of spirits is
By Rev. Paul Booth
Part 1
HH 421 - The world of spirits is not heaven, nor is it hell, but it is the intermediate place or state between the two. For to that place man comes at first after death, and then after a time, he either raised up into heaven or cast down into hell, in accord with his life in the world.
Comments: There are two worlds. This one, which is the natural, the material world, the visible universe, and there is the spiritual world, which is spiritual and substantial where there is Heaven, the world of spirits, and hell. Between Heaven and hell there is the world of spirits where all come into after natural death of the body when one's natural life ends. Because there are these two worlds man was created with both a natural and a spiritual with the purpose to enjoy Heaven and the Lord. All man's thoughts, ideas, and feelings, his loves, and their affections are from the spiritual world into the natural. They are substantial and may be expressed in material terms. When the body dies life does not cease, but continues in the spiritual body in the world of spirits for a period of time before coming into its final destination. The thoughts and the feelings, man's loves and affections that were experienced while living in the natural word are continued and experienced, though more intense then before, without the confines of the natural body.
A man is in this world in the physical body and at the same time in the world of spirits in his spiritual body in an intermediate state between Heaven and hell. The world of spirits is an intermediate place between Heaven and hell. Though in man's natural state, he is unaware of this. When man dies and comes into the world of spirits he is, after a time, either raised into Heaven or cast down into hell according to the life he lived here in this world.
When speaking of spiritual substance what is meant is that which is from the Lord God. All that is good and true come from the Lord and exists and subsists in man from Love and Wisdom. And, it is God's will that these - both good and truth - are in man and that man's will is in accord with the Divine Order. Natural matter in its self is dead. It is acted upon by the spiritual world, and so, our body re-acts to the spirit within. As long as we are speaking of spiritual substance we might as well speak about form, for substance without form in nothing. If you understand substance as the essence of a thing, then its form is the existence of that thing. We can understand the Lord as the Esse or Being and the Existere - the coming into existence - thus is the creation of spiritual substance and form of all things both in the spiritual and natural worlds.
HH 422 - The world of spirits is an intermediate place between heaven and hell and also an intermediate state of the man after death. That it is an intermediate place, has been clerar to me from the fact that the hells are below it and the heavens above. Also it is in an intermediate state, since, so long as man is in it, he is not yet either in heaven or in hell. The state of heaven with man is the conjunction of good and truth with him; and the state of hell is the conjunction of evil and falsity with him. Whenever good with a man-spirit has been conjoined to truth he come into heaven, because that conjunction, as has been said, is heaven with him; but whenever evil with a man-spirit is conjoined to falsity the come into hell, because that conjunction is hell with him. The conjunction is effected in the world of spirits, since man is then in an intermediate state. It is the same tghing whether you say the conjunction of the understanding and the will, or the conjunction of truth and good.
Comments: A man comes into this intermediate place - the world of spirits - because he is held in an intermediate state between Heaven and hell while here on earth. A man's spirit is held in equilibrium, because the evil spirits who live in hell, have been subjugated by the Lord and cannot infest the world of spirits with their evil and falsities unless the Lord permit them to do so for the sake of man's spiritual development. On the other side there is the influence from Heaven into man's mind. As long as a man lives in the natural world he has the opportunity to reject the evils he sees and can turn to do good, that is, he can receive love from the Lord. Of course, this is possible because the Lord, through temptations and victories over hell, has redeemed mankind. Thus, man's spirit is in the world of spirits and so he either comes into Heaven or hell, after his natural death according to his life lived here in this world. A man comes into Heaven if good and truth are conjoined or joined together in him and into hell if evil and falsity are conjoined in him. These are the states within man that if confirmed while living in the natural world, will either cause him to be raised up into Heaven or he cast himself into hell after his coming into the world of spirits.
It is in this way that a man is left in freedom to choose to believe the truth of the Word and to do good from the Lord or to believe falsities and do evil which comes from hell. These are the two diametrically opposed sources entering man's mind and when confirmed determines the spiritual state of the man, thus ruling his natural state. When any state - either good or evil - is attained by man, it refers to the love he has, thus to his life. After, his life, his faith and charity is either true or false or good or evil. Example: Man is either in a state of damnation, reformation, or regeneration. From this we see that a man's state is determined by his love, thus by affections for either good or evil during his natural life. I spoke about form before as coming from the natural understanding. As such, the existence of the form of a man refers to his intelligence, to his thoughts and affections, thus to the man as a spirit. The natural body is but a house for the spirit to live in. It is the spirit which is the real man. These are the various forms, depending on the acceptance of the Lord's love and wisdom - on His good and truth - or their rejection. Now a place has to do with surroundings because of the state of man's life. Natural, worldly surroundings are often not reflective of one's true state, for in the natural world the mind is divided and one can appear happy when not, and visa versa. Example: One could be in a beautiful home with just about every thing anyone would want or need, yet be in a state of unhappiness, despair, and even fear. He may be in an evil state or a good state.
However in the spiritual world - Heaven, the world of spirits, and hell - the surroundings reflect the person's state accordingly. Such as from good affections are good surroundings and from evil affections come evil surroundings. Thus, upon entering the world of spirits where all the natural thoughts were stored in a man's memory are no longer in his awareness; there remains with him as a spirit those thoughts that were confirmed by him while he was on earth, and what is confirmed is what was believed and acted upon while in the natural world, that is, on how one lived in this world, either according to good and truth or to evil and it falsitiy. It is the conjunction or connection of these in a man that places his spirit either in evil or good, thus he comes into good or evil societies in the world of spirits upon coming there, and then, from there either into Heaven or into hell after his preparation is completed.
Most people understand 'good' as descriptive of something, such as a good trip, a good time, a good house, etc., and truth as an established or verified fact. However, I point out that because they are not things in the natural world, but they are of the spiritual world and of spirit, for you cannot see good or truth with your natural eyes, but you can see their effects upon the natural world. When the Lord is seen as the Foundation and the End and as the Good and the Truth as the cause conjoined the effects are seen. So, one can understand that if good and truth or evil and falsity are the effects themselves, then wouldn't man's state change accordingly to whether he lives frpm truth and does good or from falsity and does evil?
[Let us take this reasoning to its conclusion. Remember, I spoke of spiritual substances as acting and natural substance or material as reacting against the spiritual. Therefore, the body moves and acts according to the direction or will of the spirit. Now, consider the love or the will of the Divine and the Wisdom or understanding from the Divine, by which is understood the Lord to those who have a religion and believe. These, in themselves are Substances and Form, for they are the Essence and the Existence Itself. How does God, who is the Esse and Existere, the Being and the Existence or the Love and Wisdom effect His creation, especially mankind? It is by the Lord's proceeding good and truth, for these proceed or 'as it were' flow from Him, from His attribute of Love and Wisdom into man. However, for these to have a positive effect or a 'good' effect on man, thus changing his state in evil into a state of good in this world so that upon his coming into the world of spirits where the spirit-man will rise into Heaven, a man must act 'as if' of himself understanding truths and doing them. Both the quality of good and truth conjoined within such a man comes from the Lord and so, conjoins the man with Heaven and the Lord.]
While man is in the natural world he is a natural man and when he enters into the world of spirits he is a spiritual man, either a good or an evil one, having in principle a conjunction or good and truth or a conjunction of evil and falsity. Almost all who call themselves Christians, and for that matter many in other religions, will say that God lives within them in their heart and mind meaning the will and the understanding. Good may reside in the will and truth may reside in the natural understanding. However they should be conjoined with one another in man. They are instead divided in man because of his sinful state. What a natural man loves is not always good, but is sometimes evil, because he has affection for self or what he calls his 'own'. This is called the proprium.
HH 423 - First let something be said about the conjunction of the understanding and the will, and about its being the same thing as the conjunction of good and truth, since that conjunction is effected in the world of spirits. Man has an understanding and a will. The understanding receives truths and is formed out of them, and the will receives goods and is formed out of them; therefore whatever a man understands and thinks from his understanding he calls true, and whatever a man wills and thinks from his will he calls good. From his understanding man can think and thus perceive both what is true and what is good; and yet he thinks what is true and good from his will only when he wills it and does it. When he wills it and from willing does it, then it is both in his understanding and in his will together. Therefore whatever is in both is in the man, and is appropriated to him. That which is in the understanding alone is with man, and yet not in him; it is only a thing in his memory, or a matter of knowledge in his memory about which he think when in company with others and outside himself, but not in himself, that is, about which he can speak and reason, and can simulate affections and gestures that are in accord with it.
Comments: Man's will and his understanding, because of receiving good and truth can be conjoined in him, but in his spirit, in the world of spirits, and not within his natural mind, for they are a vessel in which the Lord lives. This is because a man's natural life is subservient to his spirit. Yet, man wants to rule, thinking his spirit is subservient or is not active until he leaves this world. Man's understanding and his will are spiritual as has been pointed out. Therefore, the truth of falsity enter and form the understanding accordingly. A good man understands truths because he or she does truth, but an evil man understands truths also, but he does evil and loves such from his will, thus his understanding remains separate from his will, while in the good man the will and the understanding becomes conjoined in knowing and acknowledging or doing.
Herein is the divided mind - the will and the understanding separated. In his understanding man can think and so, perceive what is true and good, and yet, even though truth and good can be known, he wills not to follow to do good. Once a man wills good and willingly does good then there takes place a conjunction and he begins to move towards a new 'good' (spiritual) state and this can be seen or evidenced in his natural life, though it can be simulated by an evil man as well.
If one understands what is the truth and the good, but does not believe the truth nor will to do what is good, he has a divided mind and is not a man as the Lord has willed, that is, as when man was first created; he must be regenerated. Neither is he a man, if he has only a will with no understanding of what is truth and good. Therefore, man's understanding, even though it may be raised into spiritual intelligence or into truth, [and so, into celestial perception] his will or his desire, his lust for things because he loves his self, becomes connected with falsities and not conjoined to truths. These are appropriated by such a man, just as with the man whose understanding is to love the Lord, appropriates good and truth.
In man's understanding alone, that is, in that which is not willed and done is not in him, but is only in his memory. From his memory he can think. It is a matter of his knowing truths and such knowledge is called upon when in the company of others. But, this is still outside the man, and not in him; he can think and speak and reason with others, simulating affections and gestures in accordance with what he wishes to happen, but his will is other than his understanding. This is not so, when in man the will is conjoined with the understanding when he does good from willing good.
End.
Comments: There are two worlds. This one, which is the natural, the material world, the visible universe, and there is the spiritual world, which is spiritual and substantial where there is Heaven, the world of spirits, and hell. Between Heaven and hell there is the world of spirits where all come into after natural death of the body when one's natural life ends. Because there are these two worlds man was created with both a natural and a spiritual with the purpose to enjoy Heaven and the Lord. All man's thoughts, ideas, and feelings, his loves, and their affections are from the spiritual world into the natural. They are substantial and may be expressed in material terms. When the body dies life does not cease, but continues in the spiritual body in the world of spirits for a period of time before coming into its final destination. The thoughts and the feelings, man's loves and affections that were experienced while living in the natural word are continued and experienced, though more intense then before, without the confines of the natural body.
A man is in this world in the physical body and at the same time in the world of spirits in his spiritual body in an intermediate state between Heaven and hell. The world of spirits is an intermediate place between Heaven and hell. Though in man's natural state, he is unaware of this. When man dies and comes into the world of spirits he is, after a time, either raised into Heaven or cast down into hell according to the life he lived here in this world.
When speaking of spiritual substance what is meant is that which is from the Lord God. All that is good and true come from the Lord and exists and subsists in man from Love and Wisdom. And, it is God's will that these - both good and truth - are in man and that man's will is in accord with the Divine Order. Natural matter in its self is dead. It is acted upon by the spiritual world, and so, our body re-acts to the spirit within. As long as we are speaking of spiritual substance we might as well speak about form, for substance without form in nothing. If you understand substance as the essence of a thing, then its form is the existence of that thing. We can understand the Lord as the Esse or Being and the Existere - the coming into existence - thus is the creation of spiritual substance and form of all things both in the spiritual and natural worlds.
HH 422 - The world of spirits is an intermediate place between heaven and hell and also an intermediate state of the man after death. That it is an intermediate place, has been clerar to me from the fact that the hells are below it and the heavens above. Also it is in an intermediate state, since, so long as man is in it, he is not yet either in heaven or in hell. The state of heaven with man is the conjunction of good and truth with him; and the state of hell is the conjunction of evil and falsity with him. Whenever good with a man-spirit has been conjoined to truth he come into heaven, because that conjunction, as has been said, is heaven with him; but whenever evil with a man-spirit is conjoined to falsity the come into hell, because that conjunction is hell with him. The conjunction is effected in the world of spirits, since man is then in an intermediate state. It is the same tghing whether you say the conjunction of the understanding and the will, or the conjunction of truth and good.
Comments: A man comes into this intermediate place - the world of spirits - because he is held in an intermediate state between Heaven and hell while here on earth. A man's spirit is held in equilibrium, because the evil spirits who live in hell, have been subjugated by the Lord and cannot infest the world of spirits with their evil and falsities unless the Lord permit them to do so for the sake of man's spiritual development. On the other side there is the influence from Heaven into man's mind. As long as a man lives in the natural world he has the opportunity to reject the evils he sees and can turn to do good, that is, he can receive love from the Lord. Of course, this is possible because the Lord, through temptations and victories over hell, has redeemed mankind. Thus, man's spirit is in the world of spirits and so he either comes into Heaven or hell, after his natural death according to his life lived here in this world. A man comes into Heaven if good and truth are conjoined or joined together in him and into hell if evil and falsity are conjoined in him. These are the states within man that if confirmed while living in the natural world, will either cause him to be raised up into Heaven or he cast himself into hell after his coming into the world of spirits.
It is in this way that a man is left in freedom to choose to believe the truth of the Word and to do good from the Lord or to believe falsities and do evil which comes from hell. These are the two diametrically opposed sources entering man's mind and when confirmed determines the spiritual state of the man, thus ruling his natural state. When any state - either good or evil - is attained by man, it refers to the love he has, thus to his life. After, his life, his faith and charity is either true or false or good or evil. Example: Man is either in a state of damnation, reformation, or regeneration. From this we see that a man's state is determined by his love, thus by affections for either good or evil during his natural life. I spoke about form before as coming from the natural understanding. As such, the existence of the form of a man refers to his intelligence, to his thoughts and affections, thus to the man as a spirit. The natural body is but a house for the spirit to live in. It is the spirit which is the real man. These are the various forms, depending on the acceptance of the Lord's love and wisdom - on His good and truth - or their rejection. Now a place has to do with surroundings because of the state of man's life. Natural, worldly surroundings are often not reflective of one's true state, for in the natural world the mind is divided and one can appear happy when not, and visa versa. Example: One could be in a beautiful home with just about every thing anyone would want or need, yet be in a state of unhappiness, despair, and even fear. He may be in an evil state or a good state.
However in the spiritual world - Heaven, the world of spirits, and hell - the surroundings reflect the person's state accordingly. Such as from good affections are good surroundings and from evil affections come evil surroundings. Thus, upon entering the world of spirits where all the natural thoughts were stored in a man's memory are no longer in his awareness; there remains with him as a spirit those thoughts that were confirmed by him while he was on earth, and what is confirmed is what was believed and acted upon while in the natural world, that is, on how one lived in this world, either according to good and truth or to evil and it falsitiy. It is the conjunction or connection of these in a man that places his spirit either in evil or good, thus he comes into good or evil societies in the world of spirits upon coming there, and then, from there either into Heaven or into hell after his preparation is completed.
Most people understand 'good' as descriptive of something, such as a good trip, a good time, a good house, etc., and truth as an established or verified fact. However, I point out that because they are not things in the natural world, but they are of the spiritual world and of spirit, for you cannot see good or truth with your natural eyes, but you can see their effects upon the natural world. When the Lord is seen as the Foundation and the End and as the Good and the Truth as the cause conjoined the effects are seen. So, one can understand that if good and truth or evil and falsity are the effects themselves, then wouldn't man's state change accordingly to whether he lives frpm truth and does good or from falsity and does evil?
[Let us take this reasoning to its conclusion. Remember, I spoke of spiritual substances as acting and natural substance or material as reacting against the spiritual. Therefore, the body moves and acts according to the direction or will of the spirit. Now, consider the love or the will of the Divine and the Wisdom or understanding from the Divine, by which is understood the Lord to those who have a religion and believe. These, in themselves are Substances and Form, for they are the Essence and the Existence Itself. How does God, who is the Esse and Existere, the Being and the Existence or the Love and Wisdom effect His creation, especially mankind? It is by the Lord's proceeding good and truth, for these proceed or 'as it were' flow from Him, from His attribute of Love and Wisdom into man. However, for these to have a positive effect or a 'good' effect on man, thus changing his state in evil into a state of good in this world so that upon his coming into the world of spirits where the spirit-man will rise into Heaven, a man must act 'as if' of himself understanding truths and doing them. Both the quality of good and truth conjoined within such a man comes from the Lord and so, conjoins the man with Heaven and the Lord.]
While man is in the natural world he is a natural man and when he enters into the world of spirits he is a spiritual man, either a good or an evil one, having in principle a conjunction or good and truth or a conjunction of evil and falsity. Almost all who call themselves Christians, and for that matter many in other religions, will say that God lives within them in their heart and mind meaning the will and the understanding. Good may reside in the will and truth may reside in the natural understanding. However they should be conjoined with one another in man. They are instead divided in man because of his sinful state. What a natural man loves is not always good, but is sometimes evil, because he has affection for self or what he calls his 'own'. This is called the proprium.
HH 423 - First let something be said about the conjunction of the understanding and the will, and about its being the same thing as the conjunction of good and truth, since that conjunction is effected in the world of spirits. Man has an understanding and a will. The understanding receives truths and is formed out of them, and the will receives goods and is formed out of them; therefore whatever a man understands and thinks from his understanding he calls true, and whatever a man wills and thinks from his will he calls good. From his understanding man can think and thus perceive both what is true and what is good; and yet he thinks what is true and good from his will only when he wills it and does it. When he wills it and from willing does it, then it is both in his understanding and in his will together. Therefore whatever is in both is in the man, and is appropriated to him. That which is in the understanding alone is with man, and yet not in him; it is only a thing in his memory, or a matter of knowledge in his memory about which he think when in company with others and outside himself, but not in himself, that is, about which he can speak and reason, and can simulate affections and gestures that are in accord with it.
Comments: Man's will and his understanding, because of receiving good and truth can be conjoined in him, but in his spirit, in the world of spirits, and not within his natural mind, for they are a vessel in which the Lord lives. This is because a man's natural life is subservient to his spirit. Yet, man wants to rule, thinking his spirit is subservient or is not active until he leaves this world. Man's understanding and his will are spiritual as has been pointed out. Therefore, the truth of falsity enter and form the understanding accordingly. A good man understands truths because he or she does truth, but an evil man understands truths also, but he does evil and loves such from his will, thus his understanding remains separate from his will, while in the good man the will and the understanding becomes conjoined in knowing and acknowledging or doing.
Herein is the divided mind - the will and the understanding separated. In his understanding man can think and so, perceive what is true and good, and yet, even though truth and good can be known, he wills not to follow to do good. Once a man wills good and willingly does good then there takes place a conjunction and he begins to move towards a new 'good' (spiritual) state and this can be seen or evidenced in his natural life, though it can be simulated by an evil man as well.
If one understands what is the truth and the good, but does not believe the truth nor will to do what is good, he has a divided mind and is not a man as the Lord has willed, that is, as when man was first created; he must be regenerated. Neither is he a man, if he has only a will with no understanding of what is truth and good. Therefore, man's understanding, even though it may be raised into spiritual intelligence or into truth, [and so, into celestial perception] his will or his desire, his lust for things because he loves his self, becomes connected with falsities and not conjoined to truths. These are appropriated by such a man, just as with the man whose understanding is to love the Lord, appropriates good and truth.
In man's understanding alone, that is, in that which is not willed and done is not in him, but is only in his memory. From his memory he can think. It is a matter of his knowing truths and such knowledge is called upon when in the company of others. But, this is still outside the man, and not in him; he can think and speak and reason with others, simulating affections and gestures in accordance with what he wishes to happen, but his will is other than his understanding. This is not so, when in man the will is conjoined with the understanding when he does good from willing good.
End.
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