As said before [cf. 379], there are some enemies of genuine faith who are continually striving against belief and inciting others to disbelief, even alluring them by saying they count themselves among the blessed. But their pleasure is only an outer one such as that of disbelievers in the world, and even if it is more exalted, yet because it is only an outer pleasure and fights against inner or true pleasure, it comes to an end, like the pleasures of disbelievers in the world, and is turned into unpleasantness and grief. There are reasons why these people are still tolerated and kept in that outer blessedness and apparent joy. Meanwhile, their remaining truths and goodness diminish, so that they finally retain such a small remnant of truth and goodness, that they can hardly be made happy unless they repent while there is still time. This was told to Abraham and his crowd, about whom I spoke earlier [379]. The same is true of those spirits and furies who are still wandering about in the last heaven [223, 228-29]. Therefore, they who want to enter into truly heavenly joy must undergo temptations, punishments, purgings, which are unavoidable, unless they want to abide in outer [blessedness and apparent joy] and thereby have their remnant [of truth and goodness] eventually go to waste. 1747, the 23rd day of December.