Angelic Wisdom Concerning the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom Part 3

82. Something shall now be said about vacuum. I once heard angels talking with Newton about vacuum, and saying that they could not tolerate the idea of a vacuum as being nothing, for the reason that in their world which is spiritual, and which is within or above the s.p.a.ces and times of the natural world, they equally feel, think, are affected, love, will, breathe, yea, speak and act, which would be utterly impossible in a vacuum which is nothing, since nothing is nothing, and of nothing not anything can be affirmed. Newton said that he now knew that the Divine, which is Being itself, fills all things, and that to him the idea of nothing as applied to vacuum is horrible, because that idea is destructive of all things; and he exhorts those who talk with him about vacuum to guard against the idea of nothing, comparing it to a swoon, because in nothing no real activity of mind is possible.

83. PART SECOND.

DIVINE LOVE AND DIVINE WISDOM APPEAR IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD AS A SUN.

There are two worlds, the spiritual and the natural. The spiritual world does not draw anything from the natural, nor the natural world from the spiritual. The two are totally distinct, and communicate only by correspondences, the nature of which has been abundantly shown elsewhere.

To ill.u.s.trate this by an example: heat in the natural world corresponds to the good of charity in the spiritual world, and light in the natural world corresponds to the truth of faith in the spiritual world; and who does not see that heat and the good of charity, and that light and the truth of faith, are wholly distinct? At first sight they appear as distinct as two entirely different things. They so appear when one inquires what the good of charity has in common with heat, or the truth of faith with light; when in fact, spiritual heat is that good, and spiritual light is that truth. Although these things are in themselves so distinct, they make one by correspondence. They make one in this way: when man reads, in the Word, of heat and light, the spirits and angels who are with the man perceive charity instead of heat, and faith instead of light. This example is adduced, in order that it may be known that the two worlds, the spiritual and the natural, are so distinct as to have nothing in common with each other; yet are so created as to have communication, yea, conjunction by means of correspondences.

84. Since these two worlds are so distinct, it can be seen very clearly that the spiritual world is under another sun than the natural world. For in the spiritual world, must as in the natural, there is heat and light; but the heat there, as well as the light, is spiritual; and spiritual heat is the good of charity, and spiritual light is the truth of faith.

Now since heat and light can originate only in a sun, it is evident that the spiritual world has a different sun from the natural world; and further, that the sun of the spiritual world in its essence is such that spiritual heat and light can come forth from it; whereas the sun of the natural world in its essence is such that natural heat can come forth from it. Everything spiritual has relation to good and truth, and can spring from no other source than Divine Love and Divine Wisdom; for all good is of love and all truth is of wisdom; that they have no other origin any discerning man can see.

85. That there is any other sun than that of the natural world has. .h.i.therto been unknown. The reason is, that the spiritual of man has so far pa.s.sed over into his natural, that he does not know what the spiritual is, and thus does not know that there is a spiritual world, the abode of spirits and angels, other than and different from the natural world. Since the spiritual world has lain so deeply hidden from the knowledge of those who are in the natural world, it has pleased the Lord to open the sight of my spirit, that I might see the things which are in that world, just as I see those in the natural world, and might afterwards describe that world; which has been done in the work Heaven and h.e.l.l, in one chapter of which the sun of the spiritual world is treated of. For that sun has been seen by me; and it appeared of the same size as the sun of the natural world; also fiery like it, but more glowing. It has also been made known to me that the whole angelic heaven is under that sun; and that angels of the third heaven see it constantly, angels of the second heaven very often, and angels of the first or outmost heaven sometimes. That all their heat and all their light, as well as all things that are manifest in that world, are from that sun will be seen in what follows.

86. That sun is not the Lord Himself, but is from the Lord. It is the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom proceeding from Him that appear as a sun in that world. And because Love and Wisdom in the Lord are one (as shown in Part I.), that sun is said to be Divine Love; for Divine Wisdom is of Divine Love, consequently is Love.

87. Since love and fire mutually correspond, that sun appears before the eyes of the angels as fiery; for angels cannot see love with their eyes, but they see in the place of love what corresponds to it. For angels, equally with men, have an internal and an external; it is their internal that thinks and is wise, and that wills and loves; it is their external that feels, sees, speaks and acts. All their externals are correspondences of internals; but the correspondences are spiritual, not natural. Moreover, Divine love is felt as fire by spiritual beings. For this reason "fire,"

when mentioned in the Word, signifies love. In the Israelitish Church, "holy fire" signified love; and this is why, in prayers to G.o.d, it is customary to ask that "heavenly fire," that is Divine Love, "may kindle the heart."

88. With such a difference between the spiritual and the natural (as shown above, n. 83), nothing from the sun of the natural world, that is, nothing of its heat and light, nor anything pertaining to any earthly object, can pa.s.s over into the spiritual world. To the spiritual world the light of the natural world is thick darkness, and its heat is death. Nevertheless, the heat of the world can be vivified by the influx of heavenly heat, and the light of the world can be illumined by the influx of heavenly light.

Influx is effected by correspondences; and it cannot be effected by continuity.

89. OUT OF THE SUN THAT TAKES FORM [exist.i.t] FROM THE DIVINE LOVE AND THE DIVINE WISDOM, HEAT AND LIGHT GO FORTH.

In the spiritual world where angels and spirits are there are heat and light, just as in the natural world where men are; moreover in like manner as heat, the heat is felt and the light is seen as light. Still the heat and light of the spiritual world and of the natural world are (as said above) so entirely different as to have nothing in common. They differ one from the other as what is alive differs from what is dead.

The heat of the spiritual world in itself is alive; so is the light; but the heat of the natural world in itself is dead; so is its light. For the heat and light of the spiritual world go forth from a sun that is pure love, while the heat and light of the natural world go forth from a sun that is pure fire; and love is alive, and the Divine Love is Life itself; while fire is dead, and solar fire is death itself, and may be so called because it has nothing whatever of life in it.

90. Since angels are spiritual they can live in no other than spiritual heat and light, while men can live in no other than natural heat and light; for what is spiritual accords with what is spiritual, and what is natural with what is natural. If an angel were to derive the least particle from natural heat and light he would perish; for it is totally discordant with his life. As to the interiors of the mind every man is a spirit. When he dies he withdraws entirely from the world of nature, leaving behind him all its belongings, and enters a world where there is nothing of nature. In that world he lives so separated from nature that there is no communication whatever by continuity, that is, as between what is purer and grosser, but only like that between what is prior and posterior; and between such no communication is possible except by correspondences. From this it can be seen that spiritual heat is not a purer natural heat, or spiritual light a purer natural light, but that they are altogether of a different essence; for spiritual heat and light derive their essence from a sun which is pure Love, and this is Life itself; while natural heat and light derive their essence from a sun which is pure fire, in which (as said above) there is absolutely nothing of life.

91. Such being the difference between the heat and light of the two worlds, it is very evident why those who are in the one world cannot see those who are in the other world. For the eyes of man, who sees from natural light, are of the substance of his world, and the eyes of an angel are of the substance of his world; thus in both cases they are formed for the proper reception of their own light. From all this it can be seen from how much ignorance those think who, because they cannot see angels and spirits with their eyes, are unwilling to believe them to be men.

92. Hitherto it has not been known that angels and spirits are in a totally different light and different heat from men. It has not been known even that another light and another heat are possible. For man in his thought has not penetrated beyond the interior or purer things of nature.

And for this reason many have placed the abodes of angels and spirits in the ether, and some in the stars - thus within nature, and not above or outside of it. But, in truth, angels and spirits are entirely above or outside of nature, and are in their own world, which is under another sun.

And since in that world s.p.a.ces are appearances (as was shown above), angels and spirits cannot be said to be in the ether or in the stars; in fact, they are present with man, conjoined to the affection and thought of his spirit; since man is a spirit, and because of that thinks and wills; consequently the spiritual world is wherever man is, and in no wise away from him. In a word, every man as regards the interiors of his mind is in that world, in the midst of spirits and angels there; and he thinks from its light, and loves from its heat.

93. THE SUN OF THE SPIRITUAL WORLD IS NOT G.o.d, BUT IS A PROCEEDING FROM THE DIVINE LOVE AND DIVINE WISDOM OF G.o.d-MAN; SO ALSO ARE THE HEAT AND LIGHT FROM THAT SUN.

By that sun which is before the eyes of the angels, and from which they have heat and light, is not meant the Lord Himself, but the first proceeding from Him, which is the highest [degree] of spiritual heat.

The highest [degree] of spiritual heat is spiritual fire, which is Divine Love and Divine Wisdom in their first correspondence. On this account that sun appears fiery, and to the angels is fiery, but not to men. Fire which is fire to men is not spiritual, but natural; and between the two fires there is a difference like the difference between what is alive and what is dead. Therefore the spiritual sun by its heat vivifies spiritual beings and renews spiritual objects. The natural sun does the same for natural beings and natural objects; yet not from itself, but by means of an influx of spiritual heat, to which it renders aid as a kind of subst.i.tute.

94. This spiritual fire, in which also there is light in its origin, becomes spiritual heat and light, which decrease in their going forth.

This decrease is effected by degrees, which will be treated of in what follows. The ancients represented this by circles glowing with fire and resplendent with light around the head of G.o.d, as is common also at the present day in paintings representing G.o.d as a Man.

95. That love begets heat, and wisdom light, is manifest from actual experience. When man loves he grows warm, and when he thinks from wisdom he sees things as it were in light. And from this it is evident that the first proceeding of love is heat, and that the first proceeding of wisdom is light. That they are also correspondences is obvious; for heat takes place [exist.i.t] not in love itself, but from love in the will, and thence in the body; and light takes place not in wisdom, but in the thought of the understanding, and thence in the speech. Consequently love and wisdom are the essence and life of heat and light. Heat and light are what proceed, and because they are what proceed, they are also correspondences.

96. That spiritual light is altogether distinct from natural light, any one may know if he observes the thoughts of his mind. For when the mind thinks, it sees its objects in light, and they who think spiritually see truths, and this at midnight just as well as in the daytime. For this reason light is predicated of the understanding, and the understanding is said to see; thus one sometimes declares of something which another says that he sees (that is, understands) that it is so. The understanding, because it is spiritual, cannot thus see by natural light, for natural light does not inhere in man, but withdraws with the sun. From this it is obvious that the understanding enjoys a light different from that of the eye, and that this light is from a different origin.

97. Let every one beware of thinking that the sun of the spiritual world is G.o.d Himself. G.o.d Himself is a Man. The first proceeding from His Love and Wisdom is that fiery spiritual [substance] which appears before the angels as a sun. When, therefore, the Lord manifests Himself to the angels in person, He manifests Himself as a Man; and this sometimes in the sun, sometimes outside of it.

98. It is from this correspondence that in the Lord the Lord is called not only a "sun" but also "fire" and "light." And by the "sun" is meant Himself as to Divine Love and Divine Wisdom together; by "fire" Himself in respect to Divine Love, and by "light" Himself in respect to Divine Wisdom.

99. SPIRITUAL HEAT AND LIGHT IN PROCEEDING FROM THE LORD AS A SUN, MAKE ONE, JUST AS HIS DIVINE LOVE AND DIVINE WISDOM MAKE ONE.

How Divine Love and Divine Wisdom in the Lord make one has been explained in Part I.; in like manner heat and light make one, because they proceed from these, and the things which proceed make one by virtue of their correspondence, heat, corresponding to love, and light to wisdom. From this it follows that as Divine Love is Divine Esse [Being] and Divine Wisdom is Divine Existere [Taking form] (as shown above, n. 14-16), so spiritual heat is thy Divine proceeding from Divine Esse, and spiritual light is the Divine proceeding from Divine Existere. And as by that union Divine Love is of Divine Wisdom, and Divine Wisdom is of Divine Love (as shown above, n. 35-39), so spiritual heat is of spiritual light, and spiritual light is of spiritual heat And because there is such a union it follows that heat and light, in proceeding from the Lord as a sun, are one. It will be seen, however, in what follows, that they are not received as one by angels and men.

100. The heat and light that proceed from the Lord as a sun are what in an eminent sense are called the spiritual, and they are called the spiritual in the singular number, because they are one; when, therefore, the spiritual is mentioned in the following pages, it is meant both these together. From that spiritual it is that the whole of that world is called spiritual. Through that spiritual, all things of that world derive their origin, and also their name. That heat and that light are called the spiritual, because G.o.d is called Spirit, and G.o.d as Spirit is the spiritual going forth. G.o.d, by virtue of His own very Essence, is called Jehovah; but by means of that going forth He Vivifies and enlightens angels of heaven and men of the church. Consequently, vivification and enlightenment are said to be effected by the Spirit of Jehovah.

101. That heat and light, that is, the spiritual going forth from the Lord as a Sun, make one, may be ill.u.s.trated by the heat and light that go forth from the sun of the natural world. These two also make one in their going out from that sun. That they do not make one on earth is owing not to the sun, but to the earth. For the earth revolves daily round its axis, and has a yearly motion following the ecliptic, which gives the appearance that heat and light do not make one. For in the middle of summer there is more of heat than of light, and in the middle of winter more of light than of heat. In the spiritual world it is the same, except that there is in that world no daily or yearly motion of the earth; but the angels turn themselves, some more, some less, to the Lord; those who turn themselves more, receive more from heat and less from light, and those who turn themselves less to the Lord receive more from light and less from heat. From this it is that the heavens, which consist of angels, are divided into two kingdoms, one called celestial, the other spiritual. The celestial angels receive more from heat, and the spiritual angels more from light. Moreover, the lands they inhabit vary in appearance according to their reception of heat and light. If this change of state of the angels is subst.i.tuted for the motion of the earth, the correspondence is complete.

102. In what follows it will be seen, also, that all spiritual things that originate through the heat and light of their sun, make one in like manner when regarded in themselves, but when regarded as proceeding from the affections of the angels do not make one. When heat and light make one in the heavens, it is with the angels as if it were spring; but when they do not make one, it is either like summer or like winter - not like the winter in the frigid zones, but like the winter in the warmer zone. Thus reception of love and wisdom in equal measure is the very angelic state, and therefore an angel is an angel of heaven according to the union in him of love and wisdom. It is the same with the man of the church, when love and wisdom, that is, charity and faith, make one in him.

103. THE SUN OF THE SPIRITUAL WORLD APPEARS AT A MIDDLE ALt.i.tUDE, FAR OFF FROM THE ANGELS, LIKE THE SUN OF THE NATURAL WORLD FROM MEN.

Most people take with them out of the world an idea of G.o.d, as being above the head, on high, and an idea of the Lord, as living in heaven among the angels. They take with them this idea of G.o.d because, in the Word, G.o.d is called the "Most High," and is said to "dwell on high;"

therefore in prayer and wors.h.i.+p men raise their eyes and hands upwards, not knowing that by "The Most High" is signified the inmost. They take with them the idea of the Lord as being in heaven among the angels, because men think of Him as they think of another man, some thinking of Him as they think of an angel, not knowing that the Lord is the Very and Only G.o.d who rules the universe, who if He were among the angels in heaven, could not have the universe under His gaze and under His care and government. And unless He shone as a sun before those who are in the spiritual world, angels could have no light; for angels are spiritual, and therefore no other than spiritual light is in accord with their essence. That there is light in the heavens, immensely exceeding the light on earth, will be seen below where degrees are discussed.

104. As regards the sun, therefore, from which angels have light and heat, it appears above the lands on which the angels dwell, at an elevation of about forty-five degrees, which is the middle alt.i.tude; it also appears far off from the angels like the sun of the world from men. The sun appears constantly at that alt.i.tude and at that distance, and does not move from its place. Hence it is that angels have no times divided into days and years, nor any progression of the day from morning, through midday to evening and into night; nor any progression of the year from spring, through summer to autumn, into winter; but there is perpetual light and perpetual spring; consequently, with the angels, as was said above, in place of times there are states.

105. The sun of the spiritual world appears at a middle alt.i.tude chiefly for the following reasons: First, the heat and light which proceed from that sun are thus at their medium intensity, consequently are equally proportioned and thus properly attempered. For if the sun were to appear above the middle alt.i.tude more heat than light would be perceived, if below it more light than heat; as is the case on earth when the sun is above or below the middle of the sky; when above, the heat increases beyond the light, when below, the light increases beyond the heat; for light remains the same in summer and in winter, but heat increases and diminishes according to the degree of the sun's alt.i.tude. Secondly, the sun of the spiritual world appears in a middle alt.i.tude above the angelic heaven, because there is thus a perpetual spring in all the angelic heavens, whereby the angels are in a state of peace; for this state corresponds to springtime on earth. Thirdly, angels are thus enabled to turn their faces constantly to the Lord, and behold Him with their eyes.

For at every turn of their bodies, the angels have the east, thus the Lord, before their faces. This is peculiar to that world, and would not be the case if the sun of that world were to appear above or below the middle alt.i.tude, and least of all if it were to appear overhead in the zenith.

106. If the sun of the spiritual world did not appear far off from the angels, like the sun of the natural world from men, the whole angelic heaven, and h.e.l.l under it, and our terraqueous globe under these, would not be under the view, the care, the omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence, and providence of the Lord; comparatively as the sun of our world, if it were not at such a distance from the earth as it appears, could not be present and powerful in all lands by its heat and light, and therefore could not render its aid, as a kind of subst.i.tute, to the sun of the spiritual world.

107. It is very necessary to be known that there are two suns, one spiritual, the other natural; a spiritual sun for those who are in the spiritual world, and a natural sun for those who are in the natural world.

Unless this is known, nothing can be properly understood about creation and about man, which are the subjects here to be treated of. Effects may, it is true, be observed, but unless at the same time the causes of effects are seen, effects can only appear as it were in the darkness of night.

108. THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE SUN AND THE ANGELS IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD IS AN APPEARANCE ACCORDING TO RECEPTION BY THEM OF DIVINE LOVE AND DIVINE WISDOM.

All fallacies which prevail with the evil and the simple arise from appearances which have been confirmed. So long as appearances remain appearances, they are apparent truths, according to which every one may think and speak; but when they are accepted as real truths, which is done when they are confirmed, then apparent truths become falsities and fallacies. For example: It is an appearance that the sun is borne around the earth daily, and follows yearly the path of the ecliptic. So long as this appearance is not confirmed it is an apparent truth, according to which any one may think and speak; for he may say that the sun rises and sets and thereby causes morning, midday, evening, and night; also that the sun is now in such or such a degree of the ecliptic or of its alt.i.tude, and thereby causes spring, summer, autumn, and winter. But when this appearance is confirmed as the real truth, then the confirmer thinks and utters a falsity springing from a fallacy. It is the same with innumerable other appearances, not only in natural, civil, and moral, but also in spiritual affairs.

109. It is the same with the distance of the sun of the spiritual world, which sun is the first proceeding of the Lord's Divine Love and Divine Wisdom. The truth is that there is no distance, but that the distance is an appearance according to the reception of Divine Love and Wisdom by the angels in their degree. That distances, in the spiritual world, are appearances may be seen from what has been shown above (as in n. 7-9, That the Divine is not in s.p.a.ce; and in n. 69-72, That the Divine, apart from s.p.a.ce, fills all s.p.a.ces). If there are no s.p.a.ces, there are no distances, or, what is the same, if s.p.a.ces are appearances, distances also are appearances, for distances are of s.p.a.ce.

110. The sun of the spiritual world appears at a distance from the angels, because they receive Divine Love and Divine Wisdom in the measure of heat and light that is adequate to their states. For an angel, because created and finite, cannot receive the Lord in the first degree of heat and light, such as is in the sun; if he did he would be entirely consumed.

The Lord, therefore, is received by angels in a degree of heat and light corresponding to their love and wisdom. The following may serve for ill.u.s.tration. An angel of the lowest heaven cannot ascend to the angels of the third heaven; for if he ascends and enters their heaven, he falls into a kind of swoon, and his life as it were, strives with death; the reason is that he has a less degree of love and wisdom, and the heat of his love and the light of his wisdom are in the same degree as his love and wisdom. What, then, would be the result if an angel were even to ascend toward the sun, and come into its fire? On account of the differences of reception of the Lord by the angels, the heavens also appear separate from one another. The highest heaven, which is called the third, appears above the second, and the second above the first; not that the heavens are apart, but they appear to be apart, for the Lord is present equally with those who are in the lowest heaven and with those who are in the third heaven. That which causes the appearance of distance is not in the Lord but in the subjects, that is, the angels.

111. That this is so can hardly be comprehended by a natural idea, because in such there is s.p.a.ce, but by a spiritual idea, such as angels have, it can be comprehended, because in such there is no s.p.a.ce. Yet even by a natural idea this much can be comprehended, that love and wisdom (or what is the same, the Lord, who is Divine Love and Divine Wisdom) cannot advance through s.p.a.ces, but is present with each one according to reception. That the Lord is present with all, He teaches in Matthew (28:20), and that He makes His abode with those who love Him, in John (14:23).

112. As this has been proved by means of the heavens and the angels, it may seem a matter of too exalted wisdom; but the same is true of men. Men, as to the interiors of their minds, are warmed and illuminated by that same sun. They are warmed by its heat and illuminated by its light in the measure in which they receive love and wisdom from the Lord. The difference between angels and men is that angels are under the spiritual sun only, but men are not only under that sun, but also under the sun of this world; for men's bodies can begin and continue to exist only under both suns; but not so the bodies of angels, which are spiritual.

113. ANGELS ARE IN THE LORD, AND THE LORD IN THEM; AND BECAUSE ANGELS ARE RECIPIENTS, THE LORD ALONE IS HEAVEN.

Heaven is called "the dwelling-place of G.o.d," also "the throne of G.o.d,"

and from this it is believed that G.o.d is there as is a king in his kingdom.

But G.o.d (that is, the Lord) is in the sun above the heavens, and by His presence in heat and light, is in the heavens (as is shown in the last two paragraphs). But although the Lord is present in heaven in that manner, still He is there as He is in Himself. For (as shown just above, n. 108-112) the distance between the sun and heaven is not distance, but appearance of distance; and since that distance is only an appearance it follows that the Lord Himself is in heaven, for He is in the love and wisdom of the angels of heaven; and since He is in the love and wisdom of all angels, and the angel const.i.tute heaven, He is in the whole heaven.

114. The Lord not only is in heaven, but also is heaven itself; for love and wisdom are what make the angel, and these two are the Lord's in the angels; from which it follows that the Lord is heaven. For angels are not angels from what is their own; what is their own is altogether like what is man's own, which is evil. An angel's own is such because all angels were once men, and this own clings to the angels from their birth. It is only put aside, and so far as it is put aside the angels receive love and wisdom, that is, the Lord, in themselves. Any one, if he will only elevate his understanding a little, can see that the Lord can dwell in angels, only in what is His, that is, in what is His very own, which is love and wisdom, and not at all in the selfhood of angels, which is evil. From this it is, that so far as evil is put away so far the Lord is in them, and so far they are angels. The very angelic of heaven is Love Divine and Wisdom Divine. This Divine is called the angelic when it is in angels. From this, again, it is evident that angels are angels from the Lord, and not from themselves; consequently, the same is true of heaven.

115. But how the Lord is in an angel and an angel in the Lord cannot be comprehended, unless the nature of their conjunction is known. Conjunction is of the Lord with the angel and of the angel with the Lord; conjunction, therefore, is reciprocal. On the part of the angel it is as follows. The angel, in like manner as man, has no other perception than that he is in love and wisdom from himself, consequently that love and wisdom are, as it were, his or his own. Unless he so perceived there would be no conjunction, thus the Lord would not be in him, nor he in the Lord. Nor can it be possible for the Lord to be in any angel or man, unless the one in whom the Lord is, with love and wisdom, has a perception and sense as if they were his. By this means the Lord is not only received, but also, when received, is retained, and likewise loved in return. And by this, also, the angel is made wise and continues wise. Who can wish to love the Lord and his neighbor, and who can wish to be wise, without a sense and perception that what he loves, learns, and imbibes is, as it were, his own? Who otherwise can retain it in himself? If this were not so, the inflowing love and wisdom would have no abiding-place, for it would flow through and not affect; thus an angel would not be an angel, nor would man be a man; he would be merely like something inanimate. From all this it can be seen that there must be an ability to reciprocate that there may be conjunction.