611. To these things I will add this MEMORABLE OCCURRENCE. All who have been prepared for heaven, which is done in the world of spirits that is intermediate between heaven and hell, after a certain the feel a panting desire for heaven, and thereupon their eyes are opened and they see a way that leads to some society in heaven. They enter and go up this way, and on the way up is a gate, and a guardian there. He opens the gate, and so they go in. Then it is arranged for an examiner to meet them, who tells them from the director that they may enter still further and inquire whether there are houses anywhere that they can recognise as their own, for there is a new house for every novitiate angel. And if they find one, they send back word of this and stay there. But if they do not, they go back and say that they have not seen [any such house]. And then by a certain wise one there an investigation is made [to find out] whether the light that is in them agrees with the light that is in the society, and especially whether the heat does. For the light of heaven in its essence is Divine Truth and the heat of heaven in its essence is Divine Good, both proceeding from the Lord as the Sun there. If light and heat other than the light and heat of that society are in them, they are not received, that is, if another Truth and another Good. They therefore depart thence and go on through ways opened among the societies in heaven, and continue until they find a society entirely agreeing with their affections, and their abode to eternity is made there. For there they are among their own people just as among relatives and friends, whom they cordially love because they are in a like affection, and there they are in the happiness of their life, and in a fullness of bosom-delight resulting from peace of soul; for in the heat and light of heaven there is an uneffable delight, which is shared. Such is the case with those who become angels. [2] With those, however, who are in evils and untruths, it is allowed to go up into heaven as a favour; but when they enter they begin to catch their breath or breathe with difficulty, and soon their vision is obscured, their understanding is darkened, and thought ceases, while death hovers before their eyes, and thus they stand like a stock. And then the heart begins to palpitate, the breast to be constricted, and the mind to be seized with anguish, and more and more to be tortured, and in that condition they writhe like a serpent brought to the fire. From this they therefore wriggle themselves and fall headlong down the precipice that then appears to them; nor do they rest except in hell with those like themselves, where they can draw breath and where their heart beats freely. Afterwards they have a hatred for heaven, and reject truth, and in heart blaspheme the Lord, believing that their torment and pain in heaven were from him. [3] By virtue of these few [circumstances] it can be seen what the lot of those is who rate truths as of no account, though these make the light in which the angels of heaven are, and who rate goods as of no account, though these make the heat in which the angels of heaven are. Again from these considerations it can be seen how greatly they err who believe every one can enjoy heavenly bliss, if only he is admitted into heaven. For the present-day belief is that to be received into heaven is of mercy only, and that the reception into heaven is as if in the world one comes to a wedding reception (in domunm nuptiarum) and at the same the comes into the joy and gladness there. But let them know that there is a sharing of affections in the spiritual world, since a man is then a spirit, and a spirit's life is an affection, and out of that affection and in accordance therewith is the thought. Also that a homogeneous affection conjoins, whereas a heterogeneous affection disjoins, and that the heterogeneity tortures a devil in heaven and an angel in hell. On account of this they have been separated equitably in accordance with the diversities, varieties and differences of the affections that are of love. [4] It was granted [me] to see upwards of three hundred of the clergy of the Reformed world, learned men all, because they were skilled in confirming faith alone even to justification, and some of them still further. And because with them there was also the belief that heaven consists simply in being admitted out of favour, indulgence was given them to go up into a society of heaven, which, however, was not among the higher societies. And when they went up together, then from afar off they were seen as calves, and when they were entering heaven they were received politely by the angels. When, however, they entered into conversation a trembling seized them, then a horror, and finally an agony as if of death. Whereupon they cast themselves headlong down, and were seen in the descent as dead horses. They appeared as calves while going up because the natural affection of seeing and getting to know by reason of correspondence appears skipping about like a calf; and in their downfall they appeared like dead horses, because as a result of correspondence an understanding of the truths in the Word appears as a horse, while no understanding of the truths of the Word appears as a dead horse.
[5] There were boys below who saw them coming down, and in the descent they were seen as dead horses. And then the boys were turning their faces away, and saying to the master who was with them, 'What does this betoken? We have seen men, and now instead of them dead horses. And because we could not look at them we have turned our faces away. Let us not stay in this place, sir, but go away!' And they went away. And then on the way the master instructed them what a dead horse is, saying, 'A horse signifies the understanding of the Word. All the horses you have seen signified that; for when a man goes meditating on the Word, then his meditation from afar off appears as a horse, a well-bred and lively one as he is meditating spiritually on the Word, and on the contrary a wretched and dead one as he does this materially.' [6] Then the boys asked, 'What is meditating on the Word spiritually and materially?' And the master replied, 'I will illustrate this by examples. Who, when he is reading the Word, does not think of God, of the neighbour and of heaven? Everyone who thinks of God from person only and not essence is thinking materially. Again, he who thinks of the neighbour from the form only and not the quality is thinking materially. And he who thinks of heaven in terms of place only, and not out of the love and wisdom of which heaven is [formed], is also thinking materially.' But the boys said, 'We have thought of God from person, of the neighbour from the form, which is a man, and of heaven in terms of place. Have we, therefore, when we read the Word, appeared at that time to anyone as dead horses?' [7] The master said, 'No, you are still children and you could not do otherwise, but I have perceived an affection of knowing and understanding in your case, and because this is spiritual you have also thought spiritually. But I will return to the former things that I said, that he who thinks materially while he is reading the Word, or is meditating on the Word, appears afar off as a dead horse, whereas he who [then thinks] spiritually appears as a lively horse; and that he thinks materially of God and God's Trinity who thinks only in terms of Person and not of Essence. For there are many attributes of the Divine Essence, such as omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, mercy, grace, eternity and others; and there are attributes proceeding out of the Divine Essence. The latter are creation and preservation, salvation and redemption, enlightenment and instruction. Every one who thinks of God only from Person makes three Gods, saying that one God is the Creator and Preserver, another is the Saviour and Redeemer, and a third is the Enlightener and Instructor. But every one who thinks of God from Essence makes one God, saying God creates and preserves us, redeems and saves us, and enlightens and instructs us. This is the reason why they who think of God's Trinity from Person, and thus materially, cannot do otherwise with the ideas of their thought, which are material, than out of one God make three. But yet against their own thought they are bound to say that in each one there is a sharing of all the attributes, and this solely for the reason that as if through a lattice they have thought of God from Essence. Therefore, my pupils, think of God from Essence, and of Person by derivation from than, and do not think from Person and by derivation therefrom of Essence. For to think from Person concerning Essence is to think materially also of the Essence; but to think from the Essence concerning Person is to think spiritually of Person. The Gentiles of old, because they thought materially of God, and also of God's attributes, devised not only three Gods but many more up to a hundred. Know then, that what is material does not inflow into what is spiritual, but the spiritual into the material. In is similar with thought about the neighbour from his form and not from his quality, as also with thought about heaven in terms of place, and not out of the love and wisdom of which heaven [is formed]. It is similar with all the things, collectively and separately, that are in the Word; and therefore he who cherishes a material idea of God, and of the neighbour and heaven also, cannot understand anything there, for the Word to him is a dead letter, and he himself, when he is reading it or meditating on it, appears from afar off as a dead horse. [8] Those whom you saw coming down out of heaven become before your eyes as dead horses were those who have closed up the rational sight with themselves and others by the special dogma that the understanding is to be held captive under obedience to their faith; not considering that an understanding closed up by religion is as blind as a mole, and in it there is an absolute darkness, such a dense darkness as rejects from itself all spiritual light, opposes the influx thereof from the Lord and out of heaven, and sets up a barrier thereto in matters of faith in the bodily sensual, far below the rational, that is, puts it near the nose, and secures it in its cartilage, with the subsequent result that they cannot scent spiritual things at all. In consequence whereof some have become such that when they are aware of an odour of spiritual things they fall into a swoon. By 'odour' I mean perception. Such are those who make God three. From the Essence they say that God is one, but yet when they are praying out of their own faith, which is that God the Father may have mercy for the Son's sake and send the Holy Spirit, they manifestly make three Gods. They cannot do otherwise, for they pray to One to have mercy for the sake of Another and send a Third. And then the master taught them concerning the Lord, that He is the One God, in Whom is the Divine Trinity.
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